Extra vehicles mobilised by Royal Mail for festive season

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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EXTRA planes, trains and trucks are being laid on by Royal Mail to handle the UK’s festive mailbag of around two billion items.

Around 38,000 trucks and vans will be used to collect and distribute the Christmas mailbag. That is almost 5,000 more vehicles than the normal year-round fleet of 33,000 vehicles. In the Midlands area, an extra 526 vans are being used to handle the additional Christmas mail.

Sixty-four flights will transport the mail between England, Scotland and Northern Ireland each day. An additional nine flights each day are being laid on in the run-up to Christmas. That is in addition to the 55 flights Royal Mail uses during the year.

Double the normal number of rail services will be used each day this Christmas. Four services run each day as part of the normal year-round Royal Mail operation - two between London and Scotland and two between Warrington and Scotland. Over Christmas, eight rail services will run between London and Scotland, calling at Warrington.

Royal Mail is investing an additional £15 million in this year’s Christmas operation, including opening a dedicated nationwide packet network of nine packet hubs.

Around 18,000 temporary workers are also being recruited to help sort the increase in cards, letters and packets. The seasonal positions will support Royal Mail’s permanent 130,000 postmen and women who sort and deliver the mail all year round, including Christmas, which is the busiest time of the year for the postal service.

This Christmas, Royal Mail expects to handle a total festive mailbag of around two billion items. On the busiest days in the run-up to Christmas, Royal Mail expects to handle up to 130 million items - around double the normal average daily mailbag of 62 million items.

Mark Higson, Royal Mail’s managing director of operations and modernisation, said: “We are using extra planes, trains and trucks to help transport the Christmas mailbag of around two billion items to all corners of the UK.

“These additional services will help us transport and deliver the Christmas mailbag to every community across the UK including homes in the remotest locations.”

He added: “As we do every year, we encourage people to post early and order presents early to help us spread the workload of handling around two billion items in the run-up to Christmas.”

[Lounge Lizard]

Around 38,000 trucks and vans, almost 5,000 more vehicles than the normal year-round fleet of 33,000 vehicles.
An additional nine flights each day are being laid on in the run-up to Christmas. That is in addition to the 55 flights Royal Mail uses during the year.
Double the normal number of rail services will be used each day this Christmas.

It's the same every year, more trucks, plains and trains, as well as more staff at Mail Centres, to speed the mail to the Delivery Office.
Brilliant, except that Delivery Offices have NO extra staff and everything relies on our good will and overtime to ensure that everything gets delivered on time again.
And senior management might be getting worried as there's no arctic weather forecast for December yet.

[Grinder64]

Brilliant, except that Delivery Offices have NO extra staff and everything relies on our good will and overtime to ensure that everything gets delivered on time again.
And senior management might be getting worried as there's no arctic weather forecast for December yet.

My thoughts exactly...

[Captain Scarlet]

Quite agree about no extra staff as they always rely on our good will, but this year will see the real extent of the new delivery methods cos we all think in our office that you cannot do these size of delivery with the tools we have-- vans too small for 2 delys,hct will be full to capacity and cause injury pushing all day,not enough staff to deliver the mountain of packets already in our DO and it,s still Nov!!!!!!! Still it will be our fault for not going the extra mile at Chrimbo even tho I been doing that all year to get me delivery done each day

[gazzer]

Brilliant, except that Delivery Offices have NO extra staff and everything relies on our good will and overtime to ensure that everything gets delivered on time again.
And senior management might be getting worried as there's no arctic weather forecast for December yet.

My thoughts exactly...

Totally agree

[TeeferTiger]

Quite agree about no extra staff as they always rely on our good will, but this year will see the real extent of the new delivery methods cos we all think in our office that you cannot do these size of delivery with the tools we have-- vans too small for 2 delys,hct will be full to capacity and cause injury pushing all day,not enough staff to deliver the mountain of packets already in our DO and it,s still Nov!!!!!!! Still it will be our fault for not going the extra mile at Chrimbo even tho I been doing that all year to get me delivery done each day

Of course it's your fault you lazy barstewards

[Lincox]

They need to employ more temporary managers to deliver all of the overrunning deliveries there will be this year.

[Lounge Lizard]

They need to employ more temporary managers to deliver all of the overrunning deliveries there will be this year.

Either that or get Christmas day put back to 25th January.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

They need to employ more temporary managers to deliver all of the overrunning deliveries there will be this year.

Either that or get Christmas day put back to 25th January.

That's optimistic, that we'll be clear by then.

[Lounge Lizard]

They need to employ more temporary managers to deliver all of the overrunning deliveries there will be this year.

Either that or get Christmas day put back to 25th January.

That's optimistic, that we'll be clear by then.

I didn't say which year.

[IloveMYredTROLLEY!]

But what about the sleighs and the dogs to pull them during the annual pre-Xmas freeze?

On a more serious note, it would be "nice" to have every postie issued with a pair of snow grips, rather than have a limited supply on a first come first served basis (thereby meaning most PTers at our office at least are left without and then let out of the door without much regard to H&S)...