Settling rail disputes

SIR – Peter Hill (Letters, September 28) is understandably frustrated by the Department for Transport’s failure to intervene in the ongoing fight between the train operators and the unions over the scrapping of guards.

The Government’s Office of Road and Rail, which incorporates Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate (founded in 1840), has powers “to ensure that those responsible make Britain’s railways safe for passengers and provide a safe place for staff to work”.

Given that the union opposes the removal of guards on the grounds that safety would be compromised, one would think that reaching a binding ruling, one way or the other, would be a relatively straightforward matter.

Oxted, Surrey