Comment

This is not a done deal… yet. Last month, the drivers rejected an agreement that had been brokered on their behalf by their own union. Both the union and the company were caught off-guard - the result was entirely unexpected.

However, the margin was not large - 54% of drivers who voted objected to the deal, and nearly one in three of those eligible to vote chose not to do so. That indicates the union probably needs just a handful of members to change their minds.

The stronger commitment to upgrade the oldest CCTV systems will help - drivers are united in their view that the ageing cameras and small monitor screens simply aren’t good enough. One told me it was like using 17-year-old firstgeneration Nokia camera phones instead of the latest highdefinition equipment. Two sections of the revised agreement are devoted to dealing with poorly functioning old camera kit and the programme of work to replace it.

But it’s a close call. Reading the revised March agreement alongside the February one, the differences are relatively minor.

Passengers will be crossing their fingers that this time the deal will be strong enough to stick. But with a 31st strike day planned by the RMT on April 4, there’s still no sign of progress in that dispute. Some managers say privately that it will probably continue for many more months.