Job battle for train man who ejected drunk yob

Rob Wedekind was told of problems with the man on a Hull to Manchester service operated by First Transpennine Express as it travelled through West Yorkshire.

He says when he challenged the passenger and asked for his ticket, he faced aggression and claims the man produced a knife.

As a result Mr Wedekind, who has 15 years experience in the industry, ejected the man during an unscheduled stop at Stalybridge station.

But four months later he found himself sacked by the company as a result of his conduct during the incident, even though Mr Wedekind claims there was no further contact from the passenger involved and there was no complaint from police over his performance.

He has already had an employment tribunal default ruling in his favour, but that was a technical victory awarded because his former employer did not meet a timescale to respond to his action.

First Transpennine Express has now launched an appeal and a judgment is due on August 12 to decide whether it will be allowed to pursue a hearing for a fresh decision.

According to Mr Wedekind, the incident happened on Christmas Eve last year after the problem passenger got on the train in Leeds.

He said: "In April the company sacked me, after removing an aggressive drunk from my night train who'd been pestering a young lone female passenger.

"He had no ticket, became abusive and pulled out a knife while I was speaking to him. The train company suggested I acted wrongly, and sacked me."

Mr Wedekind claimed the company had no clear policy for staff to follow in such circumstances, unlike competitors.

"They asked what qualified me to assume I could physically remove someone, and where I had been trained to do so," he said.

But he said he had been given such training – including physical sessions conducted in a gym with former police acting as instructors – by Arriva trains, which held the franchise before First Transpennine Express.

Mr Wedekind said he was also challenged over a failure to contact police but he also claimed to have attempted to call, only to find he could not get through to the control room.

Those attempts did not show up on phone records because the call was not connected, he said, but footage of him attempting to use the phone was recorded on closed circuit TV.

"This is not the first time I have faced a knife. I was slashed across the face in 2006 by a woman at Dewsbury, so I am aware of how serious the situation could be."

Mr Wedekind is being represented by the RMT union and has employed a firm of lawyers to fight his case at the tribunal.

He has been unable to gain another job since being dismissed in April.

A spokesman for First Transpennine Express said: "The judge will decide whether First Transpennine Express will be allowed to defend the case, which we hope to be able to do."