DB Schenker restructuring
 

I've just heard there are going to be some changes at DB Schenker. Industrial and Energy are going to be merged and become Industrial, and Network and Construction will be merged to become possibly Network, though I'm not actually 100% positive about the latters name. I've also heard there will be another sector set up called Logistics, but where that fits into the scheme of things, I don't know yet.

I'm guessing logistics will be the NR Test Trains which DBS have got the contract for

Not exactly. I've been told that its going to be the road transport arm, so trains running to container depots will still be part of Network, but the containers on lorries to and from the container ports to the various destinations will be under Logistics.

Running boxes from a railhead into a port is sometimes seen as the cheaper option. GBRf had made plans to run boxes into Felixstowe from the Stowmarket Area due to the scale of charges for Rail Handling. Their proposals hit problems due to planning objections several years ago. Whether the Port addressed this situation or if the plan is still being worked on, I don't know.

Now is that not an absurdly stupid way for things to be ?

I was wrong about one of the sectors. Its not going to be called Network. Its going to be Construction. Maybe Network will now be Logistics. It hasn't been made very clear just yet. It will all come out in the wash though no doubt. :)

EWS/DB spent ages ages making up sectors for the company, and above all getting rid of staff.
Now they are at it again and all that will follow will be job losses all over again.
I was with EWS from day one, and they must rank as one of the worst companies to work for in this Country.
No talking, just imposing rosters and terms and conditions on the work force.
Most of the managers did not have a clue what they were doing, I even saw one person pick up a shunting pole, with the curly bit under his arm and ask what this was used for.
The selling off of the railways has been the worst thing for the rail industry since the
Tay Bridge dropped into the water.

I don't know what depot you are or were at, but its obviously a lot worse than at Thornaby. The lads there are all pretty happy with the job and have very few gripes with their current management.

I speak to people from all walks of life in lots of different industries, and I find that on the whole, the staff where I work are treated a heck of a sight better than a lot of my friends who work for different companies. I'm not saying its all a bed of roses, but to say DBS/EWS is one of the worst is a gross distortion IMHO.

Another thing to remember is that it was EWS who did the initial restructuring, not DBS. Rumours were abound when DBS took over that the sectors would be for the chop straight away, but instead they let them go for a while, probably to see how the land layed for a while. Fair play to them that they didn't go about things like a bull in a china shop and are doing restructuring in a more subtle way.

I can certainly agree with HM181 in his assessment of the situation that arose after "privatisation",I was a Driver at Saltley which was an RfD depot,and to be honest it was a pleasure to come to work(RfD was the last BR TOC)however when EWS took us over in 1998 it all changed for the worst !
It all however revolved around the management, if you can call them that !,the main problem being that nearly all the ex BR/RfD managers either retired or left the company,so did a lot of drivers !Which meant that we were in the clutches of "amateurs"who were only interested in "clawing" their way up the ladder,and personal gain.To call them "managers" is a travesty,so the rot set in,it was no longer a pleasure to come to work and I for one couldn't wait to get out,which I did thankfully by taking early retirement in 2006.
At that time I felt really sorry for the poor lads with a few years to do,and I still do,but possibly now that DBS have taken over things may hopefully improve,they can't get any worse !

My Deopt is by the by, but I worked with mainly Thornaby drivers on a daily basis.
Knowing the EWS managment at Thornaby its not suprising that many people take this view of the type of management that was in play in EWS.
Two of those people did not get jobs in the reformed mess that was EWS when sectorisation came in.
Look as the way the RMT as a whole were treated by this wonderful Comapany.
total derecognition by with the Partnership Agreement torn up for the groundstaff, with ASLEF making cosy deals with management, and RMT members paying for it with thier jobs.
In all my time on the railway, I have had to put up with DOO, Trainmans Concept, last but not least EWS.
Most of the RMT people had 30 plus years service on the railways and were treated with contempt by this company.
We are all entitled to our opinion, you have your and mine is formed by bitter front line experience of the antics of EWS and what eminated from the Doom Dome.