DISABLED rail passengers will be put in danger if conductors are no longer present on Scotland's trains, a trade union has warned.
RMT said extending driver-only operations on the ScotRail network would increase the "dangers and disadvantages" faced by vulnerable passengers, including the disabled, because there will no longer be a guard to help them on and off the train or to deter antisocial behaviour.
The union also raised concerns that seven in 10 ScotRail stations are unstaffed.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “It is clear as day that the overall policy is to move to a faceless railway in Scotland with both trains and stations de-staffed in the name of corporate profit – profits that are shifted to Holland to subsidise their rail services.
"The consequences for personal safety, disabled access and the overall safe operation of rail services are simply horrific."
It comes as hundreds of conductors prepare to strike this weekend in an ongoing dispute with ScotRail over driver-only operations, where drivers rather than conductors open and close the doors.
The practice is already routine on more than half of ScotRail services, and but RMT fears that it will be rolled out further when new trains are introduced, threatening conductors jobs and jeopardising safety.
However, industry regulator, the Office of Road and Rail (ORR), has approved driver-only operations as safe.
ScotRail also insists that conductors jobs, pay and conditions will be protected and that there will always be a second member of staff on board, such as a ticket examiner, to help customers.
The operator said trained ScotRail staff are already available at stations to help disabled passengers to and from trains and, at unstaffed stations, help can be booked in advance.
A spokeswoman for ScotRail said: “The figures speak for themselves. We arranged more than 78,000 assisted travel journeys last year – that’s 1,500 journeys every week.
“These tried, tested and safe procedures are in place at all accessible stations across Scotland, and on all services, whether they have a conductor or ticket examiner on board.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel