Inconspicuous guards
Here we go again - another round of one-day strikes at the expense of the long-suffering paying public. And for what - a political game played out between RMT General Secretary Mick Cash and the Government, or is Mr Cash worried that if Driver Only Operation trains become the norm his guards/train managers may have to start doing some work?
I use the Manchester PiccadillyBuxton service, and can count on the fingers of one hand the times I see a guard checking/selling tickets or being available to respond to
passenger queries (not everyone who travels by train is railway-savvy).
The PA system on these dilapidated Class 150/1 and ‘150/2’ units is either turned down to the lowest volume as to be barely audible, or drowned out by the noise of the diesel motors.
And the guards shut themselves away in the non-driving compartment at the rear of the train, only to emerge when the train stops at a station. Even then it takes ages for the doors to be opened, and as soon as the doors are closed they head back to their ‘boltholes’.
Before I receive a sack full of hate mail, I hasten to add that this is not indicative of all Northern guards. But in my experience, it is a regular occurrence on this particular route.
The issue of DOO trains isn’t going to go away - it will become the norm. DOO trains already operate in Scotland (and I believe on Thameslink Class 700 trains), and of course on London Underground, which I imagine carries more passengers in one day than all of the train operating companies affected by strike action put together. So, what’s the problem?
On the flip side, there are two sides to every story. The Conservative party has historically rarely favoured the railways, and it would appear that current Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has done very little to resolve this ridiculously long dispute.
Footnote: an item in a national newspaper dated September 28 reports of a passenger refusing to remove his feet from a seat when requested by a fellow passenger, despite other passengers standing (coincidentally on a BuxtonManchester service). Quote from the requesting passenger: “At no point was a guard anywhere to be seen.”
I rest my case!