Why does the Docklands Light Railway require "drivers" on the Becton
line? I know they don't drive in the conventional sense, but the
trains seem to cope alright west of Poplar, so why is a member of
staff up front required east thereof?

I always seem to forget about this, and have to give up my seat (and
good view)!

PhilD

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(PhilD) wrote in message . com...
Why does the Docklands Light Railway require "drivers" on the Becton
line? I know they don't drive in the conventional sense, but the
trains seem to cope alright west of Poplar, so why is a member of
staff up front required east thereof?

Maybe the ATO is semi-permanantly buggered on that section. It seemed to
go wrong quite often when I used to travel on the DLR a lot back in 2000.

B2003

"PhilD" wrote in message
om...
Why does the Docklands Light Railway require "drivers" on the Becton
line? I know they don't drive in the conventional sense, but the
trains seem to cope alright west of Poplar, so why is a member of
staff up front required east thereof?

I always seem to forget about this, and have to give up my seat (and
good view)!

PhilD

Recently, when travelling on an empty-ish train back from Stratford, I asked
a train manager that exact question, and she said it was for two reasons:
Firstly, it allows them to see any objects placed on the line by vandals
(apparently a common occurrence on some stretches). Perhaps the Beckton
branch is especially bad for this? Secondly, they are instructed to do so
during busy periods, as on crowded trains it can be impossible to move to
the door to open them at stations. Also, I was told the unofficial reason is
late at night, train managers are often harassed by drunken passengers, and
putting them at the front keeps them out of harms way.

Hope this helps

Daniel.

"Heliomass" wrote in message
...

Also, I was told the unofficial reason is
late at night, train managers are often harassed
by drunken passengers, and putting them
at the front keeps them out of harms way.

That doesn't sound too plausible: drivers are (or were) instructed to drive
manually whenever there are a lot of drunks on the system, but this is
because of the probability of drunks falling off platforms in front of
trains.

--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes

"Heliomass" wrote in message ...
Recently, when travelling on an empty-ish train back from Stratford, I asked
a train manager that exact question, and she said it was for two reasons:
Firstly, it allows them to see any objects placed on the line by vandals
(apparently a common occurrence on some stretches). Perhaps the Beckton
branch is especially bad for this? Secondly, they are instructed to do so
during busy periods, as on crowded trains it can be impossible to move to
the door to open them at stations. Also, I was told the unofficial reason is
late at night, train managers are often harassed by drunken passengers, and
putting them at the front keeps them out of harms way.

Hope this helps

Daniel.

This particular journey was fairly lightly loaded on Saturday
afternoon, heading eastwards. Maybe it's just the vandal thing.

PhilD

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