Questions and Answers
What is the difference between Driver Only Operation (DOO) and Driver Controlled Operation (DCO)?
From an operational and safety perspective there is no difference.
The Office of Rail and Road describes both terms as “a method of working where the driver is responsible for door operation and determining that it is safe to start the train. How the driver determines whether the train is safe to start will be dependent upon the method of train dispatch and whether the supporting risk assessment requires other safety-critical staff to be involved.”
The term DCO has come to be used as the method of working when other staff are on board the train but are not part of the process described above.
Is privatisation to blame for the expansion of DOO/DCO?
No. DOO has been around for almost 40 years, long before John Major privatised the railways. The passenger railway is no longer privatised cost and revenue risk is borne by the Government. The concessionaires, which run the train operating companies, take only reputational risk.
The present push for more DOO/DCO services is about reducing the additional subsidy needed by the industry to counteract the loss in revenues since COVID.
Are passengers less safe on a DOO train? And does having on-board staff (even if they have nothing to do with the method of working) make the journey safer?
Railway safety is run on the basis that risks are ‘As Low As is Reasonably Practical’ (ALARP).
This principle requires operators to balance the risk of harm against the money that would need to be spent to negate that risk.
Before any DOO scheme is implemented, the safety regulators crawl all over the Risk Assessments that are required to demonstrate ALARP has been met.
It is my view that on-board staff are there for other than safety reasons. It is entirely a commercial decision on whether they are present, their role, and the competencies and training they need.
Should inter-city trains operate DOO/DCO or should there always be a Guard on board the train?
I see no difference, in principle, between Metro, suburban, regional and inter-city trains. Provided the method of operation is in accordance with the relevant RSSB Railway Industry Standard, the train can run DOO/DCO.
As I’ve said before, the number of on-board staff, their duties and competencies are a commercial matter.
On a personal basis, I strongly favour using the Close Doors Right Away CD/RA system of train dispatch for inter-city using a trained and competent dispatcher. It also integrates a reduced signal passed at danger (SPAD) risk.