I don't understand why there is a problem today?
Surely only the trains that would usually be operated by a driver on overtime, need to be cancelled? On a normal Thursday shouldn't that be approximately zero services?
You would be surprised that when overtime bans are in place, the number of days with people off sick (and other absences) increases quite a lot.
Normally the absences would be covered by overtime....But surprise, surprise we have O/T ban
Maybe so, but I get the impression that the new timetable was introduced that relies on overtime to make it work. So. say a driver starts at 4am, finishes 8 hrs at 12, but the timetable requires that the train be handed over to another driver at 2pm after a couple of hours OT. On top of that, a breakdown or signal failure might force trains off schedule, so extra hours driving required to get the trains to the right spots
