Rail strikes will resume if unions won’t accept improved technology
SIR – Ian Macpherson (Letters, August 10) is concerned that a train driver in charge of operating the doors may not be able to see the whole of a 12-coach train on CCTV in misty conditions – but a conductor or guard would also struggle in these circumstances.
On the latest trains, the driver no longer relies on an external view, as every door is covered by an on-board camera. Neither the Rail Accident Investigation Branch nor the Office of Rail and Road, the rail regulator, consider driver-controlled operation an unsafe way of working, provided that the driver conducts a final check.
Thus the dispute between the RMT union and Southern railway that led to this week’s suspended strike is unwarranted. The Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise that Govia took over required it to introduce the new trains. The company has given an assurance that no conductor will lose their job nor suffer a loss of pay – and, before she resigned, rail minister Claire Perry confirmed that this principle would be enshrined in any future franchise.
Govia is trying to address a shortage of drivers, but must juggle operating the timetable with the eight-day training course needed to convert an experienced driver to a new class of unit. These are an essential part of the transformation of the TSGN service from 2018, but this can only happen if the unions also move with the times. Roger Smith Chairman, Hitchin Rail User Group Shefford, Bedfordshire SIR – Modern technology has brought us pilotless aircraft and driverless cars. In light of the battle with rail unions, the time is ripe for driverless trains. Terry Gabriel Herne Bay, Kent SIR – In Dubai, and doubtless elsewhere, there is a fast, reliable, fully computerised and extensive rapid rail transit system that runs trains without guards or drivers. Barrie Craven Newcastle upon Tyne SIR – Technology has its limits. Supermarket self-service checkouts were created to save customers time, but all they do is frustrate people by constantly malfunctioning.
Southern appears to be attempting to reduce costs through reliance on technology, rather than tackling the real problem – its own inept board of directors, who frequently run delayed services on poorly maintained trains. Louis Altman London SW17 SIR – The rail unions are fighting measures that will make the railway cheaper to run, including the removal of staff from trains and stations. This change may go unnoticed by many.
However, the passengers who feel they can no longer travel will be the less confident, the elderly and the disabled. Privatised it may be, but the railway is still a vital public service. As such, it depends on visible staff. Charles Allen Wrexham, Denbighshire