Train safety claims clash

DRIVER-ONLY trains are just as safe for passengers getting on and off as those with guards, according to a rail safety watchdog.

The Rail Safety and Standards Board analysed data from UK and European rail networks of fatal and major incidents involving passengers.

It found figures are highest for trains with driver and guard at unstaffed platforms, and that driver-only trains have proved to be slightly safer.

From staffed platforms, driver-only trains are shown to have been significantly safer than those with doors operated by a guard.

The study’s author, Prof George Bearfield, the board’s director of system safety and health, said greater use of automation could make rail travel safer and increase capacity by removing bottlenecks on the network. The RSSB is owned by rail industry stakeholders, including Network Rail, infrastructure managers, train operating companies and rolling stock companies.

But Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT union, dismissed the findings as “laughable”.

He said: “Even this latest dodgy driver-only dossier admits that driver-only operation is not just about train despatch, it is also about the adverse impacts for on-train safety, security and accessibility.”

The RMT’s opposition to the introduction of driver-only trains has led to long-running industrial disputes with several train operators that have affected travel for millions of commuters.