EXCLUSIVE: The traincrew view

The view of traincrew on the dispute between Southern Railway and the RMT has largely gone unheard.

A member of the GTR staff contacted us to set out the reasons why he opposes the replacement of safety-qualified conductors with On Board Supervisors.

He describes himself as a whistle blower. If we identified him, our man would expect to face a formal disciplinary procedure and could even lose his job. He insists that he is speaking as an individual and is not presenting a union view:

“Driver Only Operation is a safe practice and has been used for many years. But it is not the safest, nor is it the best.

“DOO is effectively cost-cutting and results in job losses, as (unlike now) trains will be able to run with just a driver on the train. The On Board Supervisor will not be required for the train to run.

“DOO has restrictions. It is used on London suburban services and on the Brighton Main Line - but only if there are trained dispatch staff at stations, and with platform equipment (mirrors or platform monitor screens) showing live pictures.

“The company wants us to use DOO all the time. But train dispatch staff are not available at all stations. Some stations are completely unstaffed.

“The management says that 60% of the GTR network already uses DOO as a safe method of operation. This is true up to a point - it uses the platform-based equipment not available at every station.

“Where there are no dispatch staff, the train is dispatched by the driver or guard looking back along the side of the train to view the doors, depending on the length of train and curvature of the platform. In 2010, at Ford in West Sussex, a 16-year-old girl fell between the train and the platform and was killed. The guard could not see along the length of the train as it departed. If the train had been using DOO in-cab equipment as it is now, the driver may not even have known about the incident.

“The in-cab CCTV that we have is not the same as drivers use on the Tube, as Rail Minister Claire Perry has claimed. And it does not work to the same standard. It is a useful tool, but is not as safe or as reliable as it could be. On new Underground trains, the in-cab camera equipment shows the length of the train in highdefinition quality. It becomes live pictures as the train enters the station and remains live until the rear coach is clear of the platform.

“On our trains the CCTV screens are 6in x 6in, divided into six sections. So each picture is 2in x 3in to show a whole coach. The cameras face in only one direction. The camera images are not live - they are screenshots at timed intervals. So if someone were running to catch the train, the driver might not be able to see them clearly.

“On a 12-coach train the driver is looking at 12 non-live images

simultaneously. The images in the cab extinguish when a power notch on the driver’s controller is selected.

“Drivers are not always able to view the whole length of the train safely with in-cab equipment. There may be low light or direct sunlight on the cameras, water droplets on the camera housings, dirt and grime on the housings, or a view blocked by a crowded platform.

“A blue interlock light illuminates in the cab to confirm that all doors are closed. But there have been many reports of items being trapped in the doors, including limbs, yet the train is still able to depart. As the cameras are not live, drivers might not see a problem develop, and depart when the blue interlock light illuminates.

“On Board Supervisors will be more visible to customers. As now, they will issue and check tickets. They will also be able to impose penalty fares on customers who haven’t been able to buy a ticket before boarding the train.

“For example, a customer may arrive when the ticket office is closed and the ticket vending machine has been vandalised. The customer boards the train with the intention of buying a ticket. Currently, the conductor can issue the same ticket that would have been purchased at the ticket office at the same price. But it is proposed that the On Board Supervisor will not be able to issue the same ticket - the OBS will offer a standard ticket at the full fare. Plus, as the passengers boarded without a valid ticket, they will also be liable to a penalty fare on top.

“This will create an extra risk of confrontation, cause disruption to services, and put frontline staff at increased risk of assault. This is about safety, not pay.

“Why do so many trains get cancelled? The company says it is due to staff shortages. But staff are in place ready to work these services. On strike days Southern cancelled all services from Tonbridge-Redhill, despite these trains being worked by both Southern and Southeastern train crews. Yet Southeastern traincrews are not involved in this dispute.

“GTR divides itself into smaller brands that the customer is familiar with: Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern. All have different terms and conditions of employment and different salaries for doing the same job. But if a Southern train has no driver, Control might ask a Thameslink driver to take it, if he has route and traction knowledge. Many Gatwick Express trains are already run by Southern drivers, but Southern drivers do not take Thameslink trains, apart from testing of the new Class 700s.

“This issue is about passenger safety. The company says that no one will lose their job. But the bigger picture is to get rid of the conductor, just like they did with the trolley staff, so that all GTR trains can run DOO with just one member of crew. The other brands - Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern - already do. It is just a matter of time.

“Only one person, only one set of eyes, too many responsibilities.”