and I think we were allies with the Prussians in the 19th Century before Germany existed. I'm just glad European wars seem to be a thing of the past, not forgetting some terrible things that have happened in eastern europe.

[QUOTE=Dynamo;16617]I wear the EWS T shirt all the time, but if I was made to wear a proper shirt and tie it wouldn't bother me to be honest, even if it was on a ballast train. At this moment in time, though a new uniform has been mentioned, I've heard no word as to whether or not we'll be made to weat a shirt and tie. EWS drivers do get issued with shirts and ties as well.

I also wear the EWS T-shirt when working freight, But when working the Scotrail sleeper or a passenger charter etc I will 99% of the time wear collar and tie as I feel that I am there representing my company and I try to look the part.

Les

As a humble passenger, I would appreciate seeing a shirt and tied driver as it makes me believe that if the driver has taken care over that, then they will probably take care over the the whole driving job. A scruffy muppet in an T-shirt* and bobble hat at the controls might be the world's best driver, but I would be concerned.

Funny thing, prejudice.


* I am not saying anything about EWS T-shirts, but just idley rambling on about my grumpy old codger prejudices. :D

Does it matter though when it comes to freight? I don't usually expect to see the driver anyway.

OK, thanks to LesG & Dynamo for their replies. Sorry I was being a bit cheeky there but I was curious about your attitudes. I agree that if you are running a prestige service you ought to dress the part. I work for one of the few suburban passenger companies which still allows its drivers to wear T shirts, and I'd hate to be stuck in a Mickey Mouse suit like the Southeastern now have. Maybe it's because our units are so old and filthy ? When our new franchise started we were given white shirts and ties which got stained very quickly thanks to all the mechanical systems covered in grease.

It's funny how different nations view things though. I've seen SNCF drivers wearing shorts, flip-flops and a T shirt, and the passengers don't bat an eyelid - they're only bothered about the cleanliness and punctuality of the service and aren't fussed what the guy up front is wearing so long as he's getting it right.

But then I don't imagine we Brits would want to model ourselves on the French ! ;)

At my depot we have one particular driver who turns up to his work in scruffy EWS uniform and on top of that wears filthy dungarees and a dirty yellow vest/jacket no matter what train he happens to be working.

He turned up to work the Royal train dressed like that and was surprised that that the inspector threw him off:eek:.

Les

Saved Prince Philip calling him a "Scruffy B*****d I suppose.
Paul.

I personally don't see a problem with "smart casual" and neither do many of the railways across mainland Europe.
However in the U.K. there are so many "sloppy dressers" who couldn't be trusted to dress appropriately that I think the TOC's are right to provide a shirt and tie etc.

I wonder how he would get on in Japan where all the on board train staff wear white gloves.:D

Well folks. Its actually going to happen. EWS will cease to be at midnight on the 31st of December 2008 and will in future be known as DB Schenker. At present there are no plans to dismantle the groups and they will continue operating as DB Schenker Energy, DB Schenker Construction, DB Schenker Industrial and DB Schenker Network.

Well I wish all EWS employees the best. I've read in the industry mags that aggregate and car transporter markets have stopped dead in the water, whereas coal flows are growing steadily. (This situation of course applies equally to FL, GBRf, DRS & all).

I do hope that 2009 isn't going to be another of those 'annus horriblis' things.

Still it won't stop me saying.......Merry Christmas everyone ! :p

Stupid bit of thinking i think,EWS is a well known name by companies around the world,if a new company wants to ship freight by rail they won't know who this "DB Schenker" lot is! Oh well.......

DB is well known internationally!

Apparently they are the second largest land based freight company in the world.

Yes i know DB is known everywhere but do companies here know that,some of them might not of heard of DB,then again.......

Personally I liked the EWS name and logo, it was very much a traditional-style name for a railway company, plus the Lion, Dragon and Stag logo is awesome.

Pssh DB Schencalankadanka. Too European.

It seems to be one of the trends these days that companies like to keep changing their identities. The days when companies built a reputation with an easily identifiable and remembered brand name are seemingly gone and I am not at all convinced it's a sensible thing to do......unless they have something they want to hide behind of course.

All thats changing at the moment is the name, as far as anyone is concerned its business as usual.

The company headed paper etc will remain EWS until all stock has been used so as letters etc are posted out the customers at first should not see any differance, then only when DB Schenker post marked mail drops through their doors will the differance be noticed and by then I would imagine that all customers would have had a letter detailing the company name change.

For the staff at the company the new year is not starting well with around 500 job losses anounced. I understand that the numbers will be confirmed in the first two weeks of January.

As a member of DB Schenker/EWS staff I personally feel that the company under the Germans can only go one way 'upwards' providing we can get some forward thinking managers that are willing to see our trains run and give their support to train crews that are trying to see the company succeed no matter what the name is

I wish all staff, customers and anyone reading this a very happy new year and all the best for 2009 in everything that we/you do.

Positive thinking Les. DB Cargo/Railion/DB Schenker, call them what you like, have taken full advantage of the open access rules in mainland Europe and are going from strength to strength. Lets hope they can do the same in the UK and that 2009 will be a positive year for the company, it's staff and railfreight in general.

I liked the EWS livery, logo and image, in my view one of the best of the privatised Railway Companies (along with GNER). Sadly they are both now gone!

DB will probably do a great job .......................

You may well be right in that a change of ownership is exactly what is needed. I have no problem with that at all. All I am saying is that a brand name is important and that changes of name are not always necessary and certainly not always in the organisation's best interests. I would have thought that EWS is a sound and fairly well trusted name in and beyond the industry and something on which they can build. There is no reason at all why they could not have kept the name (and corporate image)rather than launching something new which inevitably will take the wider public some time to recognise and to trust.

My gas/electricity provider has changed its' name three or four times now in almost as many years which I cannot see is to the benefit of the company or the customer, most of whom I guess are now totally confused as to they get their energy from. Mind you, with the reputation of many providers, perehaps that is the intention!

Good luck to all involved with EWS.

I'll try NOT to offend any EWS employees, it's a company I deeply respect. Anyway here goes....

Sadly on the Railway nowadays, just as everywhere else, 'style wins over content'

EWS is seen by many in the industry as being the last freight company to do things 'The Old BR way'. Not that there's anything wrong with the old way, but things change over time and there's alot of competition now.

Companies like GBRf, which is a relatively new player, have swept away most old working practices. As part of the First group they are extremely image conscious; they portray themselves as being very business orientated by doing things like dressing their drivers in suits and calling them Train Managers. This is only window-dressing, but customer seem
to lap it up.

But fundamentally it's Logistics which count. By basing many of their drivers at home and faxing jobsheets directly to them, they save on real estate costs. Also by sending out fuel bowsers to meet the locos at remote locations they save on having fuelling points. Obviously this enables them to undercut the prices that EWS with its enormous resource base has to charge. The bottom line is that GBRf can do it cheaper much of the time, and their reliability is around 99%. Hence they're growing like a virus.

Most industry insiders believe it's time for EWS to face up to GBRf, HH, and DRS and play them at their own game. But it will take a visionary to lead this, and it will be painful for many. And of course on top of this we're now enterring a recession/depression, so things will even harder still.

Personally I deeply hope EWS wins through. They have a really experienced and talented workforce, which thoroughly deserves to win more work.

I believe that EWS really does need an image change, and I hope that DB Schenker can take it forward. Good luck to them.

I wish them good luck for the sake of the employees.
I dont begin to understand the need for all the changes of "brand" and "image", but if it keeps people in a job, and hopefully makes someone realise that eventually we have to get vast amounts of frieght back on the railways and off the roads, then I can live with it.
Paul.

EWS workers are very flexible,will go the extra mile to get things right.GBRail and F HH are run by ex EWS staff.There is a lot of good will from staff running EWS.It would collapse if they worked the way their managers want them to.The problem is senior managers ,there from BR days,junior managers shit scared to make a decision incase they are relocated to the dole.Their CEO runs it with an iron fist and won't listen to suggestions to improve.
Man management is very poor in this company.Their workers still deliver whilst getting treated piss poor.
DB may be what is needed,but they need to get rid of most of the present management and some of the crap graduates that are being taken on.
Safety,its the tick box culture.reactive not proactive.
All rail companies are in the same boat.

Yes,the end of EWS,but the start of something big.Look out other freight companies.:D

WM,

I don't know if you work for EWS/DB schenker but if you do its not the same company I work for.

I agree with some of what you say but with other bits of this comment its pure rubbish.

I have to watch what i say, but many of our drivers don't want to change the old practices, mainly those from the large depots, they want the big money but they want it for doing next to nothing. Many of our older drivers are still working to what is called the pre 1988 agreements, now I won't even pretend to or understand the details of this agreement as its way before my time on the railway. New drivers have to agree to drive road vehicles to and from jobs if the diagramme needs that particular form of transport. These pre 1988 drivers do not have to drive road vehs so therefore that part of the job becomes a taxi ride which then equalls two taxi rides, one for him and one for the returning driver. According to our management the taxi bill is absolutley phenonomil for the company,

Yes many of our staff will go that extra mile to make a train run and keep it running but if we get to a point where we start to exceed our legal timings etc and can't get relief there comes a point where we have to say enough is enough. A couple of months ago a train arrived at our depot that was a couple of hours late, through no fault of the company, the relieving driver, who had travelled up pass refused to work the train away because he would have been a few minutes over his day and returned home pass leaving a train standing with no-one to work it.

This to me is what DB-Schenker has to stamp out the old BR mentallity, not just from its traincrews/groundstaff but also from some managers aswell. These people have to move into the 21st railway centuary and realise that the only way to work is to work as a team and maybe we can succeed as a team.

Your statement about a lot of good will from the people running EWS, Can you point them out to me please cause I have yet to meet any one running the company that has any.

Just my view from someone from a small DB depot.

Les

The taxi problem is being sorted,a taxi bill for £96k is a joke when we see people going up he road,don't have the same problem with drivers you have had.Not many old school drivers left.Drivers I know will keep trains running and not bail out if they run slightly over hours.The good will is from staff,NOT managers.Staff on the sharp end are running the show.The managers are playing golf.Best place for them.
It runs as a team but screws up when managers get involved.
Get rid of the business units is the first step.


Can't see why you have called my comment rubbish.Its FACT in my area.Sorry its not in yours.Nothing wrong with the old BR mentality long as its positive. Some of the "newboys/galls" to the rail industry have not got a clue.Some have been found out and sacked.One nearly lost a major contract.

See DB SCHENKER (EWS) has lost a lot of network rail work.around 40% is a huge amount of work.Don't think their senior managers care.Hopefully they will pick up other work.

Got told about this this morning plus the other bit:

Another 150 jobs to go on top of what has already been announced, unconfirmed report!

Les

The magazine "Today's Railways Europe" reports that DB/Schenker have had to hire 170 km of siding space in Germany to store idle wagons. The number of freight trains operated is down 40% and 8000 wagons have been put in store.

Its going to be a tough year for DB and its staff.The Uk operation needs to drop its business unit thing.Its been a disaster,nearly all its staff can see the problem .The company needs to fight the downturn as ONE unit,all staff pulling the same direction.Only then will progress be made.

Im An Ews Employee We Dont Get Told Any Information From The Company Or From Aslef Our Union. In Our Area, Ayrshire, Freightliner Has Grabbed Alot Of The Work That Used To Be Our Core Work. Hope Someone Knows More Outthere

The trouble is that some of the managers and staff are ex EWS/DB Schenker employees. so they took their contacts with them.The management that are left are clueless.We complained about BR,wish we could turn the clock back as this shower are shit.So are the unions.

Washingmachine I would'nt quite as far as this on the management (well maybe some) but what this company really neads Is for managers to sit down and listen to the staff that actually work the trains our ideas and our grievances about the company but you know yourself that most of them don't give a stuff.

I had the misfortune to be stranded at my depot this week and the company paid for a hotel for me, so not all managers are uncaring, As they did not have to do this

What we need is forward thinking managers that are willing to go get and not stay in thier offices in the warm drinking coffee all day.

I also believe that we need to get rid of the RED HERRING in Doncaster the CSMD (can't see don't care) and get back to regional control and controllers that know the area they control and to stop looking at a 1964 railway map book to make stupid decisions that can't possibly work as there are no rails for what the want us to do.

As for the Unions you hit the nail on the head!

Les

This company went down hill when Jim Fisk left,I got to know him and was impressed with the way he operated.And Berkhart,met hime a couple of times.
This bunch running it are arrogant ex BR managers.One director got a new car yesterday as they made two loco controllers redundant.
Totally agree with area control.
Been told that they have revised plans for staff reductions,less than originally thought.
Major problem is loco shortages,loads in store,but 40 locos to work 49 trains is crap.

Ermm, did you know that my company (London Midland) are allowing EWS/DB Schenker drivers that are surplus drive the Watford - St. Albans service and also certain e.c.s. workings Euston - Camden sidings. We're short of drivers in spite of being told from day one that we were surplus!

I think its relative to where exactly you happen to work. Theres some depots with higher concentrations of 'dinosaurs' as I like to put it, that cannot, or will not accept they now work in the private sector. These people, still think that they work for BR, even though all around them has changed. Every depot has two or three, but to tar all EWS/DB 'drivers' (interesting you single drivers out....) with the same brush does the vast majority a huge dis-service. If I were a driver wherever you work, i'd be gently tapping you on the shoulder and requesting a quiet word about what you have said here.

Im more persuaded by 'Washing Machine' and what he says. As an ex-EWS employee, I have to agree that many of the top to middle management are 3rd rate ex BR management, running scared of the tyranical midget from Canada. Things started to go seriously awry when Mengle replaced Burkhardt, and have only got worse. The visionaries fell by the wayside, the likes of Kim Jordon, Ian Braybrook etc, and were replaced by yes men. The can do attitude dissapeared, and gradually EWS went from truly being the 'best' to an organization continually fighting fires whilst believing it was setting 'Industry Standards'.

In short EWS was a dinosaur, that needed putting out of its misery. The company signified all that was wrong, and customers and staff voted with their feet. I left 6 months after the 'new' sectors were created for a lower paid job but one for a company that actually cares for its employees and can actually run a service to the customers needs rather than its own. When I departed, EWS were lurching from one disaster to the next, with the middle management increasingly desperate, and in a manner that effectively blamed the 'worker' for the troubles.

One last thought - Heller has never made any secret of his desire to concentrate on block traffic flows, it is also widely recognized that DB were only interested in the mainland Europe operation. With NR reducing its ballast commitments by 40 - 50%, EWS yards being mothballed, staff leaving and getting made redundant, wagons going to store and locos being mothballed or sold off for scrap, you have to ask yourself if the company is ever going to recover in the uk. I suggest not.

Welcome to the Forum Pom Liner. I have a feeling you will have plenty to contribute! I look forward to your posts.

I have deleted your second post as it appears to be a duplicate. If not please accept my appologies. Anyway if you like to check that the remaining post says all you wanted it to and amend accordingly.

Many thanks.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Hello Pom liner and welcome to the railway forum. Nice to get another view on the EWS/DB debate.

Thanks John, your welcome is appreciated. I did try to add to the above post but it seemed to have been lost....the forum logged me out, but it was referring to a previous posters seemingly ignorant (through no fault of his own i'll add here now) of EWS/DB traincrew agreements, and rules governing time in the seat - or driving hours as laid down by the Hidden 18 reccomendation which came into being as a direct result of the Clapham disaster in the late 80's (i was a Railman at London Bridge, early turn that day).

I'll get round to adding it again in due course, but a better version! In the meantime, I'd like to remind the Scottish chap that if a train was already 2hrs late, then it may be the driver baled out because if he hit someone or had a SPAD at 12hrs 3 mins then he'd be on his own union wise. No one likes being interviewed by HMRI under caution.....:)