Showing posts with label underground. Show all posts
Showing posts with label underground. Show all posts

Monday 8 October 2012

Boris Johnson ditches driverless trains plans according to reports today

It has been reported that Boris Johnson has withdrawn his plans for driverless underground trains which were due to be tested on the Jubilee Line.  See previous  blog from the RMT HERE

REPORT HERE

Thursday 4 October 2012

Why staff are essential to a safe London Underground

From  the RMT

A London Underground cleaner pulled a child to safety from a railway line just moments after a driver hit their trains emergency brakes and prevented what could have been a fatal incident.

The eight year old boy was pulled to safety from the Jubilee Line tracks at Stanmore just moments after a train was brought to an emergency stop by the driver a few feet away.

This incident comes within days of a young girl being hit by a train on the Victoria Line. Previously a child on the Jubilee Line who had fallen between the train and the platform at Finchley Road could easily have lost his life, had the driver not spotted him on CCTV moments before he was about to depart the station.

All of these incidents come at a time when the London Mayor Boris Johnson and London Underground are planning for driverless trains, and the drastic reduction of station staff.

A leaked document on LU management plans for London Underground gives detail of these plans and ideas. London's Mayor Johnson has spoken openly of his wish for trains to operate on the underground without a drivers cab. These plans would most likely mean having no driver at the front of the train to see any dangers or risks ahead.

All of these incidents could easily have been much worse had it not been for professional train drivers reacting swiftly to stop their trains, and station staff and contractors speedily dealing with these situations.

The cleaner who reacted without thought for their own safety - and in doing so pulled a young child to safety - is a hero. The train driver who reacted swiftly to stop their train having spotted the child on the tracks ahead is a hero too.

The RMT has long called for more staff, not less on the underground. These incidents demonstrate a few of the reasons - in the most real of terms - of why staff are essential to a safe railway

Saturday 18 August 2012

Fare hike makes no economic sense - London Greens

The London Green Party has said that the rail fare hike is the latest evidence that ministers are out of touch with the lives of people struggling to make ends meet.
London Greens pointed out that commuters will have to fork out at least £132 extra for an annual travel card for Zones 1-6. They said that Londoners will be particularly hard hit by the increases, given the money that many spend on commuting.
The government say that many fares will rise by 6.2% in January - almost double the rate of inflation - and some fares could be higher still.
This would see a one-day travelcard for Zones 1-3 rise from £10.60 to £11.26. A single peak ticket from Zone 6 to Zone 1, on Oyster pay-as-you-go, would rise from £6.90 to £7.32.
Noel Lynch, co-ordinator of the London Federation of Green Parties, said:
Once again, Tory and LibDem ministers have shown they are out of touch with the lives of people who are struggling to make ends meet. With unemployment going up and living costs rising, this fare hike makes no economic sense. Londoners will be hit hard as they travel to work.
The relatively smooth running of most of London's public transport during the Olympics shows that efficient railways are a real possibility. But money is going into profits, not invested in decent trains and track. Let's take our railways back into public ownership and run them for people, not profit.