BLOGS
A selection of our recent blogs posted at
www.railtechnologymagazine.com February 17 Caught red handed
Will increasing the penalty charge for fare dodgers be effective at dis- suading people from attempting to travel for free?
Of course, if someone gets caught then £80 instead of £50 is a sig- nificant difference, and could well be enough to stop them from re- offending. But perhaps the larger proportion of people who regularly avoid buying tickets are the ones who have never been charged. This means that greater enforcement and ticket checking will be more effective than simply raising the price. Research into criminal jus- tice policy in the both the UK and
US has shown that people who are considering committing a crimi- nal act are influenced more by the chance of getting caught than the potential severity of the sentence.
Catching fare dodgers should be the priority, not increasing the punishment for when (if) they are detected.
February 16 A helping hand
As part of a new campaign to re- duce the number of suicides that take place on the railway, Network Rail is working with the Samaritans to provide training for staff to sup- port people at risk of committing suicide.
Identifying these people in distress and being able to use counselling skills to help them is a great step for railway staff.
Of course the railway cannot take full responsibility for suicides at stations, but if there are ways to reduce this risk and discourage people from taking their lives, then they should be implemented.
The partnership between the two organisations is a positive sign that society is becoming more aware of this issue and is more able to deal with it appropriately.
Especially at stations where suicide is more prevalent, posters display- ing help available and staff who can manage difficult situations could literally save lives.
February 6 Bottom of the league?
Comparing railways across different countries is always difficult, as there are so many different variables in- volved, and different priorities.
Investment into infrastructure is a key part of the UK’s approach to improving our railways, yet the benefits these are set to bring may not be evident in a study which only takes a snapshot view of effect on passengers into account.
Additionally, it is well known that savings are possible in the rail in- dustry, hence the McNulty rail re- view. In order to support the imple- mentation of these improvements, unions should recognise the value of the proposed reforms instead of continuing to argue for the sake of argument.
The goals are the same; better ef- ficiency, comfort and speed at a lower price for the taxpayer. The research only highlights the need
to make these changes now, in or- der to develop a better railway for the future.
January 30 Justified rewards
Refusing a pay offer on the grounds that targets must be met to ensure the extra money is basically asking for rewards without the hard work.
Being paid more than normal for work that is less than satisfactory makes no sense. Conditions such as having to meet customer satis- faction targets will work to keep rail staff delivering to the best of their ability.
Additionally, the RMT claims that it is unfair not to reward staff who are sick or on leave during the Games. But why should they get paid for work they are not doing? This is a temporary pay offer for the Olympics, recognising the chal- lenge it will present.
January 19 Rising performance?
National train performance has taken a turn for the better after sev- eral months of decline. Although most of the figures published last year were higher than those for 2010, performance slipped regu- larly down to a low of 88.4% in period 9.
This news is a welcome change, and could spell the recovery of train performance. Disruption continues to cause problems on the railway, from extreme weather conditions, fatalities and cable thefts, but it is up to the rail industry to improve reaction to these.
If some franchises are able to consistently provide good perfor- mance, then so should the rest. Bad luck can only account for so much.
See our daily blogs at
www.railtechnologymagazine.com where you can also sign up to thedailyrailnews, the free weekly RTM newsletter, featuring rail industry news, interviews and comment.
16 | rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 12
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