Rail Union RMT have welcomed positive progress from a meeting with Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson this morning over the crucial issue of ensuring that there is a guard on every train on the new Scotrail Edinburgh/Glasgow via Airdrie to Bathgate route which is due to begin operating this year.
The Minister made it absolutely clear that there is no economic case for scrapping guards as the net savings - £300,000 – are only a tiny fraction of the total cost of the new route. That position matches the arguments put forward by RMT, the STUC and members of the Scottish Parliament and blows a massive hole in Scotrail's case for Driver Only Operation which is based on cost.
The whole issue of Driver Only Operation now rests on the safety case and RMT will be stepping up the pressure for a guard on every train to ensure the safety and security of passengers in advance of a key meeting with Scotrail's Steve Montgomery on the 13th of January.
The RMT delegation was led by Assistant General Secretary Pat Sikorski and the meeting was also attended by Stephen Boyd, Assistant Secretary from the STUC and David Binnie from Transport Scotland.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:
"RMT is pleased with the positive progress from today's meeting with the Transport Minister although we recognise we still have some way to go in the campaign against Driver Only Operation on the new Scotrail route.
Crucially, the financial case for scrapping guards, which has been right at the heart of Scotrail's case for Driver Only Operation, has now been demolished.
The campaign now is all about safety and we know that we have the overwhelming support of the Scottish public who recognise the importance of having a trained guard on every service.
We are now preparing for the key meeting with Steve Montgomery from Scotrail on the 13th January and will be looking to negotiate a positive settlement on this major Scottish transport issue."
