The value of train crews was evident during knife attack on Doncaster to London service - Yorkshire Post Letters

It is hard to draw any positive reflections from the nightmare situation of people trapped in the confines of a train and being attacked by a man carrying a knife and inflicting dreadful injuries. But details have emerged of the two heroes, the quick-thinking train driver who made an emergency stop in Huntingdon station permitting the emergency services to board the train, and the member of the LNER staff who placed himself between the attacker and a child and thus received life threatening injuries.

These two railway workers demonstrated an exemplary sense of duty and responsibility. They are employed to safe-guard the passengers and this they did in exceptional circumstances.

In recent years there have been regular disputes between the government, railway companies, and the RMT and ASLEF unions. This has caused great inconvenience to passengers and, to their credit, one of the first things the Labour Government did was to sit down, talk and resolve matters.

During the years of disputes, the unions suffered continual criticism from politicians and the press. One aspect of the disputes was about pay and the media has continually spun the perception of train drivers as being over paid.

Other disputes were about levels of staffing with many private rail companies arguing for a reduction in staff, and the unions arguing that existing levels were essential for the safeguarding of passengers especially in emergency situations. The union’s position was dismissed as being nothing more than that of vested interests.

During Covid times, rail workers put themselves at considerable risk maintaining a basic level of service to keep the nation moving. How quickly this selflessness was forgotten.

It is to be hoped that one good outcome from the horrors of Huntingdon might be a greater public awareness of the real worth of our rail workers.