As RMT guards on South Western Railway take strike action in defence of safety and accessibility again yesterday the union shone the spotlight on recently released government documents which show that the government’s own advisors warned of the adverse impact driver only trains will have on disabled and older people.
In a letter released under Freedom of Information to the Association of British Commuters the Chair of the government’s own Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee issued a clear warning to Peter Wilkinson, the Department for Transport’s Managing Director of Passenger services:
“We question how older and disabled people, and particularly those who suffer from acute anxiety and mental health issues, can travel when there are effectively no customer service staff on the train or on the station. On this point we know that the toxic combination of driver-only operated trains and unstaffed stations fails to deliver a service that meets the needs of many disabled passengers. As a result DPTAC is seeking a guarantee that such policies cannot undermine the fundamental principle of accessibility – which would in any event be illegal.”
Yet despite this warning being issued over two years ago in April 2016, the government and train companies have continued with their policy of seeking to expand driver only trains, including on South Western where 70% of stations are unstaffed.
The warning from the government’s own disability advisors follows similar concerns contained in other leaked documents from the Rail Companies Rail Delivery Group and Railway Safety Standards Board that driver only trains will have an adverse impact on disabled passengers.
During the strike, replacement staff, mainly managers, were used to replace guards on the trains, and already reports are coming in of the following hazards during the strike action:
• Ready to start signal by under skilled ‘Temporary-Guard’ given to driver on a red signal at Raynes Park, therefore SPAD risk.
• Ready to start signal by under skilled ‘Temporary-Guard’ given to driver on a red signal at Twickenham, therefore SPAD risk.
• Selective Door Operation not applied at Clapham Junction, therefore doors were released off the platform, passengers could have fallen onto the tracks, doors with no platform available were open for 90 seconds.
• Ready to start signal by under skilled ‘Temporary -Guard given to driver on a Red signal at St Margaret’s,
• Driver stopped short at Overton station, full door release given meaning doors were released off the platform and passengers could have fallen/slipped from train onto the tracks.
• Ready to start signal by under skilled ‘Temporary-Guard’ given to driver on a Red signal Wimbledon, SPAD risk.
• Ready to start signal by Guard given to driver on a red signal Effingham Junction, again a SPAD risk.
• Selective Door Operation not applied at Swaythling, therefore doors were released off the platform were passengers could have fallen/slipped onto the tracks.
• Unidentified train at Strawberry Hill passengers lifting wheelchair passenger onto train as under skilled ‘Temporary-Guard’ did not assist. The risks to both the passenger and the wheelchair user can not be understated.
Whilst this industrial action has been undertaken by the RMT on the South Western franchise, the train guards on Northern have been fighting against the same cuts to passenger safety now for two years and Arriva North, who run the Northern franchise, have only recently agreed to discussions through ACAS over the retention of the Guard role on trains. Reports like the ones above show the requirements of a guard on the train and Huddersfield Socialist Party will back the RMT in their fight to keep this safety imperative role.
Huddersfield Socialist Party 