The £5m button
Rail dispute called off - but taxpayers will have to foot the bill for changes to trains so drivers can open the doors... and the guards can close them
AN agreement to finally end the dispute over who opens the doors on ScotRail trains could cost taxpayers millions of pounds.
RMT rail union leaders yesterday agreed to recommend members accept an offer from the company which will allow train drivers to open the doors and conductors to close them.
But it is understood a new fleet of trains will now have to be redesigned to include control panels allowing conductors to lock and unlock the doors – landing taxpayers with a bill of up to £5million.
Bosses at ScotRail, now owned by Dutch firm Abellio, are expected to demand that government agency Transport Scotland pays some of the bill.
Last night, critics said that the dispute – which has left passengers having to endure 12 separate days of rail chaos over the summer – has the ‘hallmarks of a petty union row straight out of the 1970s’.
It is understood six Hitachi 385 electric trains have already been built in Japan for ScotRail without door controls in carriages. These will need to be ‘retrofitted’.
ScotRail also had to propose an amendment to its order to redesign the remainder of the 70 trains it has ordered, which could add up to £5million to the price.
Abellio bosses will seek talks with Transport Scotland about how to split this cost, since the lifetime of the trains extends well beyond the firm’s franchise to run services.
Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Alex Johnstone said: ‘This has the hallmarks of a petty union row straight out the 1970s, and the consequences will be felt by taxpayers and commuters.’
The dispute between ScotRail and the RMT escalated in June, with the union raising concerns that only drivers would operate the doors of the new trains.
But bosses have provided a guarantee that the pay and conditions of ScotRail conductors will be protected for seven years – and that there will be no job losses.
The agreement includes a commitment that a second member of staff will be retained on all the new trains being rolled out next year.
But there are fears the deal could lead to more cancellations, as services will never leave their starting station unless there are two members of staff on board.
Scottish Labour transport spokesman Neil Bibby said: ‘The chaos over the summer caused misery for commuters and other travellers. But the question must be asked why the dispute ever reached this Rail battle: The dispute has left ScotRail passengers enduring travel chaos over the summer
‘Further cost to the taxpayer’
stage. Staff had raised legitimate safety concerns, and Scottish Labour repeatedly called on the Transport Minister to intervene.’
He added: ‘There are now legitimate concerns of a further cost to the taxpayer as a result of the chaos under this SNP Government.’
A ScotRail Alliance spokesman said: ‘Our in-principle agreement with the trades unions over the staffing and despatch arrangements for the new trains means we will be able to run a more effective and efficient service for our customers. We’re still in discussion with Hitachi and Transport Scotland about the design change necessary to meet this requirements of this new despatch arrangement.’
A Transport Scotland spokesman said all ‘initial costs’ arising from ‘retrofitting’ trains with conductor panels will be met by ScotRail. And Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: ‘I am pleased that we are finally starting to see what looks like an end to the industrial action that has affected our railways this summer and I would like to thank passengers for their forbearance.’
He added: ‘I hope this agreement reached in Scotland can provide a positive platform for negotiations elsewhere in the UK.’
NEXT stop, 1978 and the Winter of Discontent!
It is hard to believe the deal hammered out to stop the belligerent RMT rail union wreaking further havoc on the travelling public is not from the strikemarred 1970s.
Incredibly, train drivers will open carriage doors and conductors will close them. The union maintains this is a safety issue but in this age of hi-tech it is about one thing and one only: Money.
The fact that the rolling stock earmarked for ScotRail does not currently have a button for conductors to push and that the bill for adding them may be £5million shows how the rest of the world is moving on.
Meanwhile, the poor old taxpayer and the travelling public will pay, so the militant unions can keep their red flag flying and their inefficient practices intact.