"Recliner" wrote in message
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The wheel flats were not caused by lack of maintenance. They were
caused by drivers locking the brakes on slippery track, causing the
wheels to slide along the track, which creates a flat spot. That's a
combination of a possible lack of drivers' skills and LU's failure to
use the RAT frequently enough after Storm Angus brought down a lot of
leaves in a short period.

How is LU's failure to use the RAT frequently enough to keep the
track clear of leaves, not evidence of a lack of maintenance ?

Given that this number of flats and trains being taken out of
service had not previously resulted from drivers locking their
brakes on slippery track, this can't be the result of a lack
of drivers skills as such.

It's surely more a case of the drivers not having been trained to
drive their trains in situations where the tracks are covered in
wet leaves. Possibly as a result of a decision not to run the RAT
often enough, or simply as the result of a breakdown of some kind.

So that's a clear failure of management on two counts.
First a failure to run the RAT often enough in this particular
instance. And second a failure to implement a training programme
allowing for the possibility that for some reason the line
might be covered in wet leaves or similar making it exceptionally
slippery.


michael adams

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