Well Les as I'm sure you know, it's NR's intention for all the 'Suits' to come out of their back offices and work the panels. As you say it's extremely unlikely that they can run a
normal service. The Midland Mainline is my patch, and we're lucky to get a Normal service on a good day!!
This arrangement sounds like a recipe for a ***-up, and all the drivers I've spoken to will be very wary on strike days. I'm told that NR hopes to run the boxes in ARS (Automatic Route Setting) as far as possible, and this should prevent any major mishaps, but it's when Degraded Working is brought in that a human being can really foul it up.
One thing's for sure: all we drivers will be in 'Paranoia' mode until the real siggies come back.
