Spanner in one hand, a wire in the other and a ciggy hanging out of their mouths while they have a bloody good rant about the shirts and ties faffing about above them. These are the lads keeping the trains moving. A group of legends, the lot of em.
@@markltbn often you'll need two look outs a team leader and a couple guys to carry any tools and carry out the work. They don't have time to leave their tools in the van which could be a mile away from the problem while they work out exactly what is needed so they need to be prepared to do anything.
@@markltbn Working a live rail line you need at least 1 lookout for each direction. 1 to monitor power to the wires being worked to ensure some pinhead doesn't go and re-energize the system before the repair is complete. 1 Foreman 1 electrician an apprentice and a runner (for bring the tools up with the apprentice and getting anything that wasn't brought to the area from the truck or depot. Depending on what the break was if it was more than just a cut line they may need other parts (relays, signal generators, etc). It looks like a lot of folks until you realize that 1/2 of the people for safety due to trains being run just a couple tracks over and it could be easy to have someone forget and switch a train to the track they are working on.
i know im asking randomly but does anyone know a trick to log back into an Instagram account..? I was dumb forgot my account password. I love any help you can give me
Lots of general discussion in the comments here - some good points made here and some bad ones made there - but let's take a moment to appreciate Station Master Norman Topson: a true railwayman if there ever was one. And Norman is just one of many people working on the UK rail network with the utmost passion and dedication to their work in providing good service to passengers. Without people like him, the railway would probably come off the rails.
I’ll NEVER complain about rail delays or replacement buses again seeing how bloody hard these people work and the crap they have to take from some passengers. Well done everyone involved for keeping our railways running in the face of much adversity (and moaning passengers) 👍😃
I've been on trains all over Japan and if Japanese see this, they think white people are completely incompetent, slow and retarded. Their system is NOTHING like this. I can't believe Britain was a superpower looking at this documentary.
@@infiltr80r you realize how much money is pumped into the japanese railway network right?.. they benefit greatly from a better work ethic true, but they also have money to burn on the system magnitudes higher than the UK could ever hope to match in a hundred years.
Mr. Norman Thompson showcases what working on the railway is all about. You're here for the customer and you want to keep everything running as smooth as possible. Good job sir!
Sadly David who was visible at 36:00 talking about the line blockage and where trains were stopped in the Hayes area has sadly passed away some time since claimed by the big C. RIP young man.
harry's trains and simulations Awww, I’m really sorry for your loss. 😢 May he R.I.P. poor Ronnie. I know I would appreciate kind words from a stranger if I lost my Tilly. 🐶❤️✌️
If it was illegal for passengers to be "packed in like this", she and her family would be on the platform waiting for the next train. Stop moaning, people.
I have literally no idea what you're talking about or where you're going with this. 1) You don't have to get on the train. Stop acting as if you or anyone else is forced to get on a crowded train. Simply get another and if you can't do that, use a different form of transport. 2) You call me a 'poof' as if you A) know me and B) as if there is something wrong with being gay. Then you decide to judge me despite knowing nothing off me, yet try to criticise me for assuming. Pot/kettle/black.
It's great to have series like this, as much as we the traveling public like to complain when they go wrong, these people who have a thankless job keeping the railway moving deserve our appreciation
Keane Trains he wasn’t actually frozen. when you die your body begins to stiffen and lock in place. Your arms and legs basically can get frozen in place if the weather outside is cold enough which is what happened to the dog
Fully packed train "Can you find somewhere for 9 of us to go?" After amazingly finding somewhere for her and her family can fit she then complains it must be illegal to be packed in such a tight space? Maybe if you arrived earlier or booked your seats considering you have such a large group you'd have been fine. What a plonker!
As a Canadian who grew up with Rail Simulator and then Train Simulator 2013 to present, the Great Western Mainline will ALWAYS hold a special place in my heart as my introduction to Britain's Railways. I love the run from Paddington to Reading, it's 30miles of high speed fun, I've done it in 15mins with an APT-P, perfectly tilting around the corners. If I ever go to the UK, I want to take a train to Reading, just so I can see what I've been driving virtually for over 10 years
Underground, Metro, LIRR, BART, NJT, they are all pretty much the same things happen and they can be forecast if you didn't plan for potential delays, so sorry but you should have called your psychic friends so they could tell you needed to arrive earlier.
Carl Thompson I agree that sometimes there is no other choice. But if you (general you) have to go a) at that time b) at that date and c) from that location, and have no way to change something (earlier or later so that there are not as many people) then there is only one thing you can do. Accept that it'll be packed and stop bitching.
Thats exactly what I thought. Complaining when trains are late then complaining when staff try and get more people on the soonest available one. "Poor countries" indeed.
You know the biggest thing that comes through on these programs is the quality of the staff. Bloody shame Joe public treats them like crap !! The staff are all great 👍
Well things are different down south. According to them Twyford is a village with five platforms. Yet in the north east there's a station that serves 6 towns, has a similar amount of passengers and destinations just has 2 platforms.
I swear all the american railway enthusiasts come to this series to comment about how 'small', how 'crowded' our railways are and how the UK needs to do X, Y and Z to be better without any knowledge of how our system works.
Parry Bollocka Money uk trains are contracted to the rail companies it's costs to much money to replace all trains that are perfectly capable. It's not always busy like they show on this video across the uk.
That's odd... AMERICAN railway enthusiasts? We'd be lucky to have even half of what UK has in terms of rail service... With Crossrail and many other line extensions happening throughout London, the states here would be surprised to even get a non-dedicated lightrail line :
GWR Cholsey to Paddington, Bakerloo line to Waterloo, Southern railway to Portsmouth Harbor, British rail ferry to Ryde Esplanade. I took this trip & return at least twice a month in the 70's from my home near wallingford, to my wife's childhood home in Ryde to visit her family. The trains ran like clockwork and in all that time I never had a late train. How things have changed since privatization!
Really am amazed the station master is doing each and everything in station what a great man he is 👍🙏🌹but here in India they even don't bother to talk to the passengers, I wish I could settle down in UK Love UK 🇬🇧
Reading to Paddington, that's my route, I always travel off peak and I am never disappointed. Next time I will go missing at Paddington so that Haley can find me, lol.
I appreciate the challenges faced in my country regarding the trains. having lived in Asia and Europe and witnessed systems there overcome challenges and offer a more reliable and cheaper service. Surely questions need to be asked?
Hi again from Canada! One of the things that seems to keep me coming back to all this is the English. I speak Canadian English (native) French (a strong second) and Spanish 3rd.and adapt well to different dialects or parlances. ... But that word "parlances" is largely forgotten here in Canada - pity! yet, in Francophone Quebec > means the same and is used every day. In Spanish; idioma. But in this video I hear that Scottish lady with her impeccable brogue and it is easy to understand. She has a lot going for her, and great! Then you have that other young man who chose to work on the rsilway and had the job of collecting the cadaver of a dog. He, also was clear to understand to me more used to Canadian English. (BTW he might say this so to him, I mention a British ancestor of mine known in his time as "Humanity Martin". He was a member of British parliament and passed "the Martin Act". this was the first known legislation against cruelty to animals, and logically would have precipitated not only the founding of the R.S.P.C.A., but all their sequels in the countries! .... So we might say "All did not go to the dogs!" Now on with the show!
Why is the railroad fined for delays no matter what the cause? Plus its amazing to me how people get mad where there are delays causing by flooding or in this case a severed cable. Would they rather there be a derailment?
Cameron Williams That's true, yet they're hardly informed of what the issue is. Also, if they pay for a service, they should get on. They pay for a 30 minute journey but it turns in to a 2 hour one. Surely you would be angry if in their shoes?
Julian Hornby I am always delayed by trains on the North Clyde Line. Half the time its idiots being killed or cars being smashed up by trains or some twat severing cables. Other people cause delays so they cant fix it instantly within seconds. The fines aren't by the government its by TOC's (ScotRail , Virgin ETC)
Because the fines give economic incentive to fix the problems, like building proper drainage or protecting cables. Without fines, it would be cheaper for Network Rail to let the railroad flood instead of spending money to fix it. The fines need to be properly set to balance priorities. You shouldn't spend 100 million pounds to build a bridge to fix a tunnel that floods once per year, but you want them to spend 10,000 pounds to fix drainage if it floods once per month.
Not that I have ever shouted at a member of staff when there has been a train cancellation/ delays etc, but must admit have not been the most understanding of customers. After watching this, I will try and be more understanding when things go wrong!!
It's interesting to see how fast detraining, and boarding is when a train is stopped at a station. Here in Canada, at major stations like in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montréal, no one is allowed on the platform when a train is arriving. The train stops, unloads its passengers, and they then exit. Then a "boarding" announcement is done, and then the passengers can board the train. It can take up to 30 minutes to do this!
Yeah it is like that in most of the minor or intermediate stations, but in Central London termini like Euston, the ticket barriers only let people out. Then when the train is ready, it is announced and everyone goes. It works pretty good
Walking a freight line in NC, USA, I was surprised by how quietly the trains approached and how little warning I had. I hear trains a mile away from the tracks, to the side, but that does not mean I could hear them from a mile in front; not even close.
Some of the comments on here are pretty shocking. Britain has one of the worst and convoluted railway systems in Europe, while also being one of the most expensive. There is no reason people should simply accept bad, overcrowded, and late service. Get on a train in Belgium, Germany, or Italy then come back here and tell people to stop moaning. Why WOULDN'T you want better trains?
@@Liberator975 They say to do the work at another time. They think they only do engineering work when its busy? Or something like a tree on the track and they moan because they can't magically remove it within 5 seconds and prevent delays
Rail journey is a kind of a less of a risky and it is fast enough, comfortable and a tradition in itself. Maintenance of rails and tracks is important part of the railway business. Railway stations are crucial to the success of a rail service company.
A tree on the tracks, possibly because of strong winds, is definitely a reason to keep florae away from train lines. At least a decent distance away. Sure, it might look pretty and help it 'blend in' with the countryside, but when there's shit weather or a dead tree, then you've got crap on the rails.
Back in the old days of British Rail it was very common for chaps to turn up with their nephew or whatever and get them a job there and then. Nowadays it's all done by the book through HR and the like so yeah obviously it helps if you have some inside information and the like, but it's not like it was.
This series seems to be implying a couple of things that make you wonder why people catch trains in the UK - The train is very expensive, fares are not subsidised to a large extent and train operators exist firstly to make a profit - Service Delivery is at times poor and affected by elementary errors (eg. trains running out of fuel) - Overcrowding and presentation of infrastructure are big problems despite high prices. If you ask me this shows why privatisation without proper subsidy (user pays model) is a bad thing for passenger railways: they just can't seem to compete on their own in developed, highly regulated countries and should always be seen more as a public service. A holistic, large government owned railway seems to be the best model - because losses incurred by the passenger arm can easily be offset by freight contracts, especially lucrative coal and mineral haulage. That seemed to be the case in Queensland, Australia where I'm from anyway (except a certain idiotic Labour government privatised the freight arm only, selling the family silver...) Surprise surprise ticket prices are up 40% or so in the 4 years since.
53:08 In term time there is a thing called 'rush hour' where thousands of people use the rail network. So it's just as, if not more, hectic as the Christmas/summer holidays.
Just to think the class 43 HST have nearly disappeared from that region as of mid 2019 and the livery has changed to the dark green from the pink and purple for the GWR fleet
When they did Reading train station compare to then and now it is massive Anneka next and it connects everything I even think it was bigger than Paddington 👌👌 🚅🚅🚆🚆🚂🚂
Hello, will the "North of the Border" episode be on RU-vid soon? A friend of mine says I'm in it, but I am in the US and I can't view iPlayer. Thank you!
Made me laugh too! I think it was the use of the word "comment" from the lady. No doubt it is corporate bullshit she has been told to speak, but he wouldn't have said that if she said "complaints form"!
Unfortunately SC I still have 6 years to do before I reach retirement but if you ever make it across the pond IMO the best rail trip in the UK is from Glasgow to Oban in Scotland only little 2 car trains that dont go very fast but the scenery is stunning next to that is the west country line down through Devon & Cornwall very different from Scotland but really glorious little villages and quayside pubs with the IMHO best coast line in the country
Tuppoo94 One problem with being the world first railway system is that it was built with tunnels and bridges which time has proved to be just a bit too small. That is the main reason why double decker trains don't run in the UK, though they are proposed at least as an idea for the new HS2 high speed line.
"Reminds me of the Trains in the poor countries!" For fucks sake woman have you seen the trains in India?! They have open toilets and shit everywhere. People get so pissed at the fact the trains are packed and busy, but they don't realise that it's not the TOC's fault!
ianwyj1 Yes indeed. Rush hour in Japan sometimes means pushers to cram you in. For people who don’t know what it looks like, look it up under Japan train pushers.
The network rail guys standing at the track waiting for inspection team to come along...3 hours later inspection team say they won't be coming. The 3 hour delay was due to the faffing about by the inspection team.....but i bet they still get a bonus.
They should have Japan to design their railway. Their trains always run on time (unless something happens). They have great safety engineering. Even in earthquakes, they stop all trains before the earthquake hits.
