But industry sources suggest otherwise. Another example they cite relates to the renovation of Birmingham New Street Station, which began in 2010. Prior to the reconstruction, the train crews were in a “dark and gloomy” room on the premises of the 19th century station. As soon as the 750 750 million station was rebuilt in 2010, the crews were transported to Guildhall in central Birmingham, a short walk away. A source in the industry claimed: “The union has insisted that we have to renegotiate the walking time allowance, the payment time they get from leaving the train to arriving at the messroom – time that is not part of their break.” “[But] the union used a gammy-footed driver and timed them from the end of the longest train, to the farthest reaches of the station, to reach Guildhall, the source added. “And even then not through the back exit to the Guildhall which overlooks just opposite the station, but all the way around the building to use the main entrance where the elevators were. “The new hiking time allowance has been set at 12 minutes.” The walk takes a minute, according to Google Maps. In the meantime, maintenance crews are not allowed to cross the border lines. This means, for example, that if there is an error on the Kings Cross to Potters Bar line and no staff is available to correct it, a member of the nearby Euston to Watford line may not enter the breach. “[If] “Euston’s team that did not have a call out in its patch could have spent 500 yards on the Kings Cross to solve the problem in a short time,” the source said. The list goes on, they add. “Our specialized teams do not share trucks or equipment, so we can not send a truck with a mixed team, we have to send two or more to each job. The teams of experts will also not cooperate even to the point of not helping to get rid of the kit of another team “.
