Fares may rise to pay ‘£7m’ bill for rail crew

THE cost of putting a second member of staff on all Merseyrail trains could mean a rise in fares.

The news comes after the RMT Union and transport officials ended a bitter dispute over the future of guards last month, and it was announced a second member of staff will be on board each service once the new fleet of trains join the network from 2021.

It has now been revealed that the move will cost “as much as £7m per year” in operating expenditure, although that is dependent on wage inflation over time.

According to a report to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, the authority itself, through its transport body, Merseytravel, will be liable to pay the entire amount.

After Merseyrail announced its intention to abandon the “driver only” trains plan last month, it was revealed the dispute process had raised some proposals that would cover some, but not all, of the funding.

A joint statement from the authority, Merseyrail and RMT said additional means would also need to be considered that could mean a crackdown on fare evasion and increased ticket prices.

That statement said: “In order to pay for a second member of staff on each train additional funding will now need to be generated. Productivity proposals have come forward from the ACAS process that will cover some of the required funding, however additional means will also need to be considered by all parties, which could include an enhanced crackdown on fare evasion and increased fares.”

The report to the combined authority said that any proposals for how the bill was to be paid “will need to be accompanied by robust and rigorous financial modelling”.

The new fleet was designed to be operated by the drivers alone.

That sparked a furious reaction from the RMT and a number of passengers, and a campaign to make sure a second safety-critical member of staff remained on trains.

The union held strikes, which were suspended while conciliation service ACAS helped settle the dispute.

It is expected it will take several months for a final agreement to be reached, which will include agreeing the role and safety responsibilities of the second crew member.

The union has agreed that there will be no further industrial action while talks continue.

The report also said there were “significant financial risks” to the combined authority that need to be addressed before any changes can be agreed.