RAIL UNION RMT today called for an immediate halt to the rolling out of Driver Only Operation (DOO) on Scotrail train services as the investigations into last night's derailment in Argyll get under way.
RMT will be writing to the Scottish Government and Scotrail demanding a halt to their ongoing plans to introduce Driver Only Operation on the new Airdrie-Bathgate route – pointing out that last night's incident has once again confirmed the safety-critical role that the guard plays in an emergency situation and that it was only the experience and training of the guard, working with the driver, that avoided a major disaster.
The first car derailed and was left suspended with only the coupling of the second car preventing it from falling down the hillside in what would have been a major disaster. While the driver put out a fire in the carriage, the guard activated emergency procedures and the evacuation of the passengers and it was the quick thinking and team working of the two crew that led the 60 people on board to safety.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said today:
"The guard and the driver on last night's 6.20pm service from Glasgow to Oban are true heroes who showed once again that you need trained and experienced crew to cope with an emergency situation. It is a miracle that a major disaster was avoided and the incident shows once again that corners cannot be cut when it comes to rail safety.
"If this train had been driver only operation it would have put the driver in an impossible and potentially lethal situation – attempting to extinguish a fire while safely evacuating a train just cannot be done and Scotrail and the Scottish Government now need to recognise that and call a halt to their plans to roll out driver only operation."
No comments:
Post a Comment