Driver-only trains are being rushed through to cut costs
Further strike action on Southern Rail takes place this week, and the disruption this will cause for passengers is regrettable. But we won’t be misled by the industry on why the strikes are taking place.
The extension of driver only operations by Southern Rail is at the heart of the dispute between Aslef, the RMT and Govia Thameslink Railway which runs Southern.
Last week the Office for Rail and Road Regulation published a review of Driver Only Operations (DOO) on Southern Rail, concluding that:
“ORR is satisfied that with suitable equipment, procedures and competent staff in place the proposed form of train dispatch intended by GTR-Southern, meets legal requirements and can be operated safely.”
The conclusion by the ORR as safety regulator doesn’t give driver only operations a clean bill of health. It suggests that it can be safe if certain criteria are met.
Even though the ORR describes its review as ‘thorough’, for some strange reason it only focuses on train dispatch and completely ignores the implications of DOO for passenger safety on the whole train journey. Not what you’d expect from an ‘independent’ safety regulator.
For some time now, Govia and the government have tried to reduce the dispute to ‘it’s about who opens and closes the doors’ and the ORR report fits this narrative perfectly. Well – we won’t be misled.
We know that the dispute isn’t just about train dispatch, it’s about guaranteeing a second safety critical trained person on the train – i.e. a guard, for safety, security and accessibility reasons.
The ORR’s review makes a number of recommendations to deliver improvements, and some of these have yet to be implemented before DOO services can begin.
At some stations lighting improvements are needed. GTR-Southern has also been asked to make improvements so CCTV images are consistently high on the Horsham to Bognor Regis route.
And action was needed to provide extra staff during peak periods in locations that suffer from overcrowding on platforms – if the viewing corridor will be difficult for the driver to observe and carry out the train safety check.
The ORR shouldn’t just take it for granted that everything will be okay once a driver only operated train has left the station. That’s irresponsible.
- On August 25 2016, a safety-trained Merseyrail guard protected the train, isolated the electric rail and evacuated passengers to safety after a car collided with a train at a level crossing in Southport, while the driver remained in his cab suffering from concussion.
- On September 16, a trained guard protected a train derailed by a landslide at Watford – leading passengers to safety while the driver was incapacitated in the front coach, which had become detached from the rest of the train.
On-board supervisors that will replace some guards on Southern won’t have the same level of safety training as a guard. This is all about cost-cutting, when it should be about safety.
In terms of savings, the Rail Safety Standards Board (RSSB – 2015) states in relation to implementing driver only operations:
“By far the biggest financial benefits arise from a reduction in staff salaries. This can arise from employing fewer staff, and from replacing guards with cheaper non-safety critical on-train staff.”
Southern will be saving money by extending driver only operations and replacing some guards with on-board supervisors. In 2014/15 – the company received £42 million in net funding from taxpayers and paid out £22 million in shareholder dividends.
Not a bad deal, eh? Actually, yes – but bad for passengers and taxpayers.
We would welcome a genuine, independent review of driver-only operations that looks at all aspects of safety and ensures that all stakeholders, including unions, are fully involved.
Sharon Sukhram is a Policy Officer in the TUC’s Organisation and Services Department. She covers the Action For Rail and Speak Up For Justice campaigns
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4 Responses to “Don’t be misled by the Tories. Southern Rail strikes are about safety”
Mark
Agree with the very last paragraph, however you make no mention of the FACT that DCO or DOO already operates on many, many trains in this country already and I don’t hear that passenger safety being called into question for those existing services? In my view both the unions and the government just want a fight, neither really cares about the passenger at all, they just want to get their way. If they were grown up about it they would do as your last paragraph says. There should be a ‘standard’ for DCO/DOO and passengers should have a say about whether they are prepared to pay more for more staff or accept ‘standard’ DCO/DOO and any risks associated with it.
A Driver
“The ORR’s review makes a number of recommendations to deliver improvements, and some of these have yet to be implemented before DOO services can begin.”
But DOO services _have_ begun on all routes. By Southern’s own account, their DOO programme is now complete and successful, despite the assurances they gave the ORR that they wouldn’t run DOO trains until the lighting and cameras were sorted.
That makes it all the more insulting when the company’s only attempt at a compromise with the drivers’ union is to promise the aforementioned upgrades (thanks but this should have been done _before_ DOO was imposed on us), that no further DOO will be imposed without agreement (worthless because the current programme is DOO everywhere possible), and an indemnity insurance scheme for Drivers (worthless because insurance won’t stop you from being prosecuted like the poor chap at Hayes & Harlington).
GTR really are trying to have their taxpayer-subsidised cake and eat it, too. But judging by the approximately 3-to-1 positive response we had from the public on the picket line today, I’d say anyone who uses their trains regularly knows GTR are full of it.
Will White
Funny how the air carriers manage to make a profit with most planes having a capacity of 150 passengers and always 2 pilots in the cockpit. Cutting down on safety for an increase in profit is very typical in our capitalist society and very stupid in my opinion.
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