RSSB: “No evidence of increased risk” from DOO

THE RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board) says there is no evidence that drivers (rather than guards) operating train doors increases the risk of passenger harm.

The organisation analyses safety data and provides standards and risk guidance to the industry.

Rail unions have consistently stated that industrial action over the role of conductors on Govia Thameslink Railway has been about protecting the safety of passengers. They argue that a guard opening and closing train doors is safer than the driver managing train dispatch with the aid of CCTV cameras.

However, RSSB Managing Director Mark Phillips said: “We have 30 years of data which we have analysed. We have found that the driver performing the task does not increase the risk to passengers at all.”

The RMT union suggested that there has been a greater incidence of passengers caught between closing train doors on Driver Only Operation services, compared with trains that carry guards. It said in some cases passengers have been dragged between improperly closed doors on a moving train, implying that this would not have happened with a guard performing a visual check before departure.

Phillips responded: “In fact, no one has died as a result of being caught in train doors for more than 15 years. We feel it is important that our independent analysis is widely known. We have said that the driver operating the doors alone could potentially deliver some safety benefits, because it removes any possible miscommunication which could exist between the driver and the guard.”

“No one has died as a result of being caught in train doors for more than 15 years.” Mark Phillips, Managing Director, RSSB

RSSB said that through a period in which DOO has increased, there has been an overall downward trend in the levels of passenger harm. Taking into account the rising number of journeys, the rate of harm to passengers has fallen by a quarter over the past decade.

About 40% of the network already operates DOO, as does London Underground. Almost every new train built in the last 15 years is fitted with door systems capable of being operated by the driver alone.

The RMT has previously argued that RSSB is not independent, as it is paid for by the rail industry. GTR Chief Executive Charles Horton sits on the RSSB. @AndyRoden1