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Southern strike: Rail union 'admits trains can run safely without conductors'

Southern Rail has been hit by strikes
Southern Rail has been hit by strikes

The union behind the Southern rail strike has privately admitted that trains can be run without conductors, according to reports.

Aslef, which represents 1,000 train workers, has called a three-day strike staring today in opposition to driver-only trains, citing safety concerns.

It warns that in-cab monitors, which allow drivers to check when it is safe to close doors, do not always work.

The long-running dispute between unions and the train operator has seen millions of commuters face months of misery.

But, according to the Daily Mail, documents show that the union agrees driver-only trains could be operated safely without conductors.

In an Aslef newsletter sent to members working on Southern Rail last March, the union highlighted a number of circumstances where it would acceptable for trains to run without guards.

It said: “If a conductor is unable to continue through sickness, assault or arrest, the service may complete its journey DOO (driver-only operated).

“If the conductor is left behind by driver error, the duty may run DOO until the conductor can be reunited with the service.”

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The Rail Safety and Standards Board and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) both say that driver-only systems are safe provided that appropriate procedures are in place.

However, Mick Whelan, the Aslef general secretary, has argued that these procedures do not exist on Southern railway lines.

In a statement, he said: “The company seems to expect drivers to operate trains which it knows are unsafe — because it concedes the work the ORR wants done has not yet been completed — which proves, yet again, that this is all about putting profit before passenger safety.

“The truth is that passengers, every time they are asked, want a second safety-critical person on their trains. On board to help the elderly, the young, and the disabled. The company, which doesn’t seem to care what passengers to think, want to take us one step closer to losing that second role.”

The RMT union has released a dossier cataloguing accidents on trains. It says that of 10 investigations into incidents when customers were injured entering or leaving a train, eight were on driver-only trains.

Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport, has said: “All that’s happening [with Southern Railway] is the technology on the trains is changing in a way that’s actually happened before, and it’s simply happening on a broader basis than before. It’s safe. It’s been assessed by the independent safety inspectors so there’s no safety issue.”