YP Letters: Rail bosses off the tracks in a fantasy world

THE claims by Northern that driver only trains can operate successfully and without delays (‘Rail strike will hit more than half of services’ The Yorkshire Post, July 2) makes clear that rail bosses live in a fantasy land.

You only have to look at the sorry state of the antiquated train carriages operating on Northern routes to see why. Driver-only trains (while still unsafe) could only work in a perfect world with new trains, fully-staffed stations and rescue engineers only minutes away.

Any commuter knows that the reality is much different. If only one thing goes wrong, such as a jammed door or a health or safety issue with a passenger, there will be no train guard on hand to resolve it.

Northern themselves admit that most of their 464 stations are un-staffed, and their boss, Alex Haynes, stated that “it’s far more efficient to have someone on the train”.

Rather than pocketing profit for their owner DeutscheBahn, Northern should be seeking to improve their creaking service by investing in their staff, newer trains, and upgrading their stations. Passenger safety will always be better served by having a train guard on board. But Northern would rather lose the staff and pocket the difference.