SPADs

Signals Passed At Danger - and LUL management's hamfisted, ineffective and disciplinarian ways of tackling them

Blinded By The Lights?

3 December 2025

Defective tunnel lights on the Bakerloo have gone unfixed for months.

No short cuts to re-leaf from flats

1 December 2025

Leaf fall has rolled around again, and this year with more mitigations on the Picc than ever. Such innovations as netting to catch falling leaves show the scope of technological advancement now engaged to stop the annual issue of trains coming out of service for flats.

More Training = Fewer SPADs

25 October 2025

"SPAD Awareness" notices posted by Trains Managers in a depot that shall, for now, remain nameless announce that "50% of SPADs are caused by new drivers."

Change to drivers' agreement penalises junior drivers

7 November 2017

A change has been made to the Train Operators Professional Agreement (Topra). It used to be that any driver who had safety related incidents on a manual line, and who had been on the job two years, had an option of moving to an automatic line. Management and Aslef decided they wanted to increase...

Tripping Up

28 August 2009

There were extraordinary goings-on on the Bakerloo last weekend, as management decided that they could dispense with the small matter of tripcock safety. Yes, our intrepid bosses decided that a train that failed its tripcock test could remain in service. In other words, a train could stay in service...

Bakerloo drivers: Vote Yes and Yes!

16 July 2009

RMT is to ballot drivers on the Bakerloo line for both strikes and action short of strikes to demand the reinstatement of Kevin Dobinson, sacked for an aggravated SPAD. London Underground is trying to establish a regime where they will routinely sack anyone for even the smallest mistakes. They want...

Another Driver Sacked

1 June 2009

Another driver has seen one mistake leave him out of work - this time, Bakerloo driver Kevin Dobinson. You'd think management could accept that we all make mistakes occasionally, and that if someone puts their hands up to it and has mitigating circumstances, then a warning or re-training would be...

Don't Sack Zak

9 February 2009

Piccadilly Line drivers are anxiously awaiting the judgment in Zak Khan's appeal against dismissal, and preparing for industrial action should LUL management reject the appeal. Zak had a SPAD, over-running the first semi on the way out of Boston Manor eastbound. Management have had the cheek to...

At The Movies

12 June 2008

You might have noticed that several stations now have moving-image adverts on a 10-foot-high screen on the platform wall. It's all thanks to cross-track projection (XTP). You might also suspect that this could possibly distract the driver, or indeed the passengers, causing potential safety problems...

Acton Town Drivers To Ballot For Strikes

25 April 2008

Drivers at Bollo House (Acton Town) have had enough of the management regime in their depot and have asked RMT to ballot them for strike action. The problems have been going on for some time now, and drivers' patience is exhausted. Management have clamped down on sickness and SPADs, and while...

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