Posted 26th March 2012 | 8 Comments
Driverless trains plan is 'lethal gamble'–union leader
TRAINS WITHOUT DRIVERS could be running on the London Underground within ten years, according to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who faces an election in May.
Mr Johnson said he 'would not buy new tube trains with drivers' cabs' if he retains his office after the election.
He is also calling for tighter laws to control strikes, in his newly-published manifesto.
Driverless trains have been running in London for fifteen years: the Docklands Light Railway, which opened in 1987, has never had drivers. Instead, a member of staff travels on each train, although all are trained to drive the trains manually via a special control panel which can be brought into use in an emergency.
In his transport manifesto, Mr Johnson said: "It is time to move forward with 'train captains' – along the lines of the DLR – with all the efficiency benefits it will bring and absolutely no loss of safety.
"TfL will rapidly establish a timetable for introducing the first driverless trains to become operational on the London Underground network within a decade."
But Mr Johnson's plans have prompted a vigorous reaction from the largest rail union, the RMT.
Its general secretary Bob Crow said: "“This is the same desperate, tired rhetoric from a clapped-out, right-wing politician looking to pull up a few opportunist votes and it will backfire on Boris Johnson big time.
“London tube users know that it is the drivers who pull kids from under trains when automation fails to spot such potential tragedies, that it is drivers who evacuate in emergencies and that it was drivers who played such a crucial role in dealing with the 7/7 bombings deep under ground.
“Boris Johnson is prepared to take a lethal gamble with passenger safety in his quest for votes and just like his pledge of a “no-strike” agreement four years ago this is nothing more than unworkable hot-air, aimed at grabbing a few cheap headlines.”
A fleet of 194 subsurface trains is currently being delivered by Bombardier from its plant in Derby, and these have conventional cabs.
However, the next tranche of rolling stock for the Underground will be designed for the deep tubes. Alstom, Bombardier and Siemens have been developing a 'next generation' lighter-weight tube train for London, although up to now plans for the proposed trains have also included a conventional cab.
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
s neave, london
Driverless,staffless trains have not been a lethal gamble(as Mr Crow claims) in Paris,Singapore,Copenhagen,Lille,Nurnberg & the many other places they have been running safely, in some cases for 25 years.
I have travelled on them in all these cities.
The doors open promptly. The trains move off the moment the door closes & they don't stop at the whim of union officials.
Anoop, London
The DLR has evacuation walkways along all tunnels, so the train captain can be anywhere on the train. The tube does not, so the driver has to be in a place where he/she has easy access to communications, computers and emergency equipment (i.e. the driver's cab).
The DLR, Jubilee, Central and Victoria line trains are driven mostly by computer, and the driver / train captain operates the doors and deals with emergencies.
Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
As a regular user (though not daily!) of the DLR the reality is these trains are manually driven more often than is often made out!!
And its worthg remebering that the DLR was built with full automatic working in mind, although the legthening of the trains from single car to three car raises issues of safety if a train needs to be manually driven and the driver is at the rear of the train.
Fortunately even if this happens in a tunnel DLR tunnels are equipped with a side passage at train level which can be used by the driver to reach the front something that is not available to tube drivers and would be impossibly expensive to install to-day.
Anyway, clarification of what "driverless" means is required from Boris Johnson as to whether he means a train will run with -
1) No member of staff on board?
2) A train captain as on the DLR?
If answer 1 is the answer then theat puts a billion users at risk if something goes wrong let alone the risk of gangs of steamers robbing passengers trapt deep under London!!
if 2 is the answer well these can ALSO GO ON STRIKE and BELONG TO THE SAME UNION so what is all this talk ablot driverless trains really all about, given that the best place for a person able to drive the train is in the front of the train and not trapped amongst commuters at 6pm.
I reckon ALL Mayoral candidates should be issued with a DVD of the BBC series "The Tube" which has just finished and shows what the real world is and not a fantasyland dreamt up by someone who barely uses it!!
Steve Alston, Crewe
Ohnoes. If a simple pay dispute causes the occasional one-day strike, I dread to imagine the chaos brewing that the blithering bungling idiot will cause with this.
People slate Ken, but at least he didn't try bait the unions into all out war. What does Boris care about? Votes. Who suffers? The customers.
My plan number #612 involves a 'Mayorless' City Hall, with a 'captain' controlling the entire council from the boiler cupboard. Probably run the place better.
Rich, Calais, France
I have no trouble with driverless trains if the platforms are secured (ie like on the newer parts of the Jubilee line). Lille's metro has no drivers, and no crew members, and has been running without incident (as far as I know) since 1983. The difference: every single station has protected platforms.
Mark Rice, Chessington
Sorry Mr Crow but your union has upset the majority of Londoners over the years. Its a free economy and if your drivers do not like the new ideas then they have the right to leave. As a tube user I have no other choice. If there were then I'm sure there would be less driver on the tube as we would all chose an alternative.
Also do not agree with his safety argument. Captains in the middle of the train, or like guards on SWT, roam the train and control doors from any point will increase safety. Although I bet Mr Crow is waiting to raise a concern about staff safety over this one.
Modern day electronics and sensors are far better than human eyes at detecting people on tracks. A combination of thermal, image recognition and movement detectors would identify objects ahead of the train and unlike humans, there attention never wanders or concentration drops.
Sorry Mr Crow but your political BS and bringing up 7/7 is a low blow that stinks. Dont drag your union members down with you.
Lee Worthington, Manchester
The Tubes drivers are amongst the highest paid in Wester Europe, so it is understandable that TfL want driverless trains to reduce operating costs. The princilpe should work if all of the tube stations follow the design of the jubilee extension with glass doors to prevent people falling on the track. Not quite sure how drivers are any more beneficial than a train capatain in evacuating stranded trains as the tube uses one-man operated trains. Sorry Bob but that argument dosen't wash. Is Bob Crowe still going to bemoan the fact TfL's trains are electric rather than steam, dispensing with the need for a fireman. I know he has a job to do promoting his members interests, but like Scargill, he seems to be oblivious to the point that it is his strike action and general attitude that may be costing his members more in the long run.
Lutz, London
Driverless trains would be a welcome development in London. Hopefully it would help see an end to the industry's self-appointed, most authorative commentator on all matters, whether they are related to his union members' working conditions or not. Is Bob Crow the sole commentator this publication can dig up?