GUARD VICTORY AT SCOTRAIL

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2016 :: RMTnews 5 R MT has called on transport authority Merseytravel to abandon ‘reckless’ plans for driver-only trains after failing for more than six months to answer key safety questions over plans to remove guards from Merseyrail trains. Multiple attempts to get answers from the transport authority have been met with silence concerning plans that would place passengers and rail workers at unacceptable risk. Since the union first wrote to Merseytravel chair Liam Robinson, emergencies have taken place on the railway network – one of them on Merseyrail itself – which have underlined the critical role played by guards in protecting passengers. On August 25, a safety- trained Merseyrail guard protected the train, isolated the electric rail and evacuated passengers to safety after a car collided with a train at a level crossing while the driver remained in his cab suffering from concussion. On September 16, a guard protected a train derailed by a landslide at Watford, carrying out all the safety protocols laid down in the railway rule book, and again leading passengers to safety while the driver was incapacitated in the front coach, which had become detached from the rest of the train. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that these latest incidents would have put lives at serious risk had there not been trained guards present to deal with them. “To continue along the path to driver-only operation in these circumstances would be nothing short of reckless,” he said. R MT members on Scotrail have voted by a massive ten to one to accept a deal thrashed out in negotiations that guarantees the retention of safety-critical guard on current Scotrail services. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that it was a major victory in the fight to stop the compromising of rail safety through the extension of Driver Only Operation. The principal agreement applies to ScotRail EMU services that will operate on the following newly electrified routes: Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High; Edinburgh to Glasgow via Shotts; Edinburgh to Dunblane; Glasgow to Stirling, Dunblane and Alloa and Glasgow to Edinburgh Waverley via Falkirk Grahamston. It will apply to existing EMU services that are Conductor operated and part of the North Berwick – Carstairs – Glasgow routes. It is the intention to put longer formations on this line of route. All of the above specified EMU services will operate as conventionally staffed with a competent Conductor on board. It also retains conventional staffing of the electric trains on the above routes. Hitachi has been instructed to fit door control panels to Class 385 rolling stock. The proposals guarantee a guard on every new electrified train and that the Conductor will retain their full competency including rules, track safety, evacuation. In addition Scotrail confirm that trains operating these services will not run without a competent conductor on board. "This deal, which represents a benchmark for the industry, is exactly what we have proposed as a resolution to the Southern dispute. If it's good enough for Scotland it's good enough for the rest of the country. "The agreement has been reached after a campaign of industrial action and intense negotiations and shows what can be achieved in serious talks. That lesson should be a wake- up call to Southern Rail," said Mr Cash. GUARD VICTORY AT SCOTRAIL MERSEYTRAVEL SILENT ON GUARDS