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Within the official weather station grid in Sweden, Södertälje reached something like 21.3°C, a notch higher than Stockholm city yesterday.
The plunge...
Rain came along, and the temperatures dropped like a stone within 4 hours. From 21°C to just 13°C - and then stayed there for quite a while.
Rising temperatures during the night
Until it started to rise again, and was 15°C by the time i went home around 02.00 - with gusty but incredible mild air. The wind hauled though the dense trees, with lots of noise... the air smelled moist and had this wooden feeling to it. Like rising autumn does.
The issues behind Subway traffic delays ?
More rain was coming along, making practically all outdoor subway traffic delayed by 3-4 minutes - due to slippery rails but also because of too many speed limits (work) along the line. This often brings us down - a lot. Add a lot of people, or even fiddling with the doors, and you are -5 min delayed - guaranteed.
To the "happiness" of our "low/middle bosses" who follow orders preaching and writing numbers and interpret statistics. Reminds me of living in a virtual world, instead of the real deal.
When humanity is forgotten in the process
This Punctuality thing... is an "economical" construct - and in my opinion pretty stupid construct; in a country like Sweden, especially in a city like Stockholm.
WHEN we are too late with a train - then there is ALWAYS VITAL REASON why you can't drive any faster !!! This important aspect, often seem to be forgotten in the talk about punctuality.
Unless of course your train can fly above an object / locomotive and be faster... Hasn't happened yet. So, no, you cannot do it faster or "punctual" - when stuff is thrown into your way - and you as a driver do not have to power to circumvent that (such are the safety rules, after all).
What are the things that delay subway trains ?
Far too many rail works at the same time - along the line. That really makes you get delayed.
Passenger behavior in terms of preventing doors from closing. It's very, very common, and difficult to prevent (you can not prevent it really).
Slippery rails as soon it rains - due to the construction of the subway wagon and its weight on the driving axis, made them more slippery. Software prevents you from accelerating from a subway station, in order to prevent damages to the wheels (which is extremely costly). And you have to be very careful not to slide, when you use the breaks... So: you slow down more than usual. It is a simple logic and safety.
And sometimes all three major factors together.
Red stop lights, which I suspect sometimes indeed happen because of laziness (not paying enough attention for those in command, who should pay more attention).
Sending locomotives in front of your path - and you're fucked (in terms of punctuality as it delays you often vastly, like -5 minutes).
On weekends in particularly - you turn around time at the end station can be 2-3 minutes only - which in practice results into that you start off -2 minutes delayed. That delay adds up as you drive southwards with many rail works along the line, and you end up -5 minutes.
Capish ?
It's plain logic - and has nothing to do with driver behavior, really.
So, where are the errors ?
AI based timetables calculated in favor for all kinds of other things - except that you need some margins in your turn around time, e.g. to capture delays, without they get dragged along when you drive southwards again, and further add up. However, these what I call "AI Generated" timetables - give a fuck to natural human, reasonable time spaces. It's like you put a Wall Street dude to solve a time table. Don't expect that to be in favor - other than greed economical stringiness and plain "automatic" thinking without consideration on human conditions.
However... Subway isn't Wall Street.
There are isn't big super cash made. Subway is something fundamental, and it is about things to work reliably. So, you need good foresight, insight and a lot of practical experience, in order to make good traffic, but also safe traffic and humainly possible conditions for the staff, who actually does the work on the ground.
You cannot have it all - at the same time.
But companies don't tick that way. Especially not, the higher the ranks, the worse it gets (from a human perspective). Not totally unlike politics and "secret societies" (of any kind) - having different rules, interests and goals at the top. Like two different worlds. One is virtual. The other is real on the ground.
So, the ground staff gets all these words of "goals", "informations", slogans", and so on. It's a lot of mindless parrot slogans, nobody truly takes seriously. Why ?
Example: remember marriage and relationships ?
If you partner says or even insists repeatedly on that "he/she loves you" - but her actions speak a totally different language... how long does it take, until you don't trust/listen/believe her or him ? It all just becomes shallow and... well, like a broken record.
Like ads which promise you god knows what, but it is just the same shit (most often). Just to keep you "hanging on", yearning for more or better... in a sort of hope to get better" type of mood. It goes in repetitive circles. And it become nauseating.
That's why.
I love real things. Real people. Real everything. I dislike BS: When i sense BS behind glossy words and slogans, well - it's still BS. Ideas need spirit. And when there is spirit, there is substance. And then you can feel it, what is real - and what is hollow.
It's actually that simple.
Trimming subway drivers in "punctuality"
So... why trying to "trim" subway drivers into stringent "punctuality", when the reasons not reaching punctuality to 99% are caused by factors that are (by nature) outside of a drivers powers ? Train drivers know this. They live it and know what they can do - and what they can't do. We have pretty stringent rules to follow. Like pilots follow rules !
As I said, i cannot jump over red lights, passengers, locomotives in front of me, or trying to emulate the movie "Speed" when it is raining and the rails are slippery, or when i have to face 5 speed limits (max 30 km/h instead of 70 km/h) along the line in one direction, because of rail work.
So, I can't be punctual.
Can sometimes bring out the worst; people in "power"
Therefore, this "punctuality" mantra - it is pretty counterproductive construct at best. It also can bring out the worst in people; Some middle/low end bosses adhere to it to 150% - makes me wonder, if they got the right job or should perhaps go to the military (or rather not), perhaps play drama queen in some soap opera instead.
Luckily not everyone is like that.
There are good (reasonable) bosses, who are grounded and have a pretty good understand of the challenges in the subway traffic. So, they don't bombard you with "punctuality statistics" every week in your mailbox - and don't chase you for every fart as soon a number turns 'negative'.
It is the resonable, experienced and more grounded people - who are the ones, who truly bear up the structures of a company, entity or group in society.
Not the sociopaths and autocrats near the top. |
