30 March 2016
RMT Press Office:
RMT puts safety case at the heart of Merseyrail trains discussion in letter to Chair of Merseytravel.
In a letter to the Chair of Merseytravel, released by RMT today, the union reiterates its key safety demands of the Combined Authority over the introduction of the new Merseyrail fleet and the threat to the guards.
With the threatened introduction of Driver Only Operation, RMT has once again specifically demanded to know, in the event of the driver being incapacitated due to an incident such as a fire or derailment;
• Who would take charge of the situation?
• Who would make the safety communications via the specialist Tunnel Emergency Communication system, or the complex GSM-R system?
• Who would arrange for the emergency isolation of the 750V DC conductor rail?
• Who would safely lead any required immediate evacuation of the train?
• Who would act to calm and control potentially panicking passengers and prevent them de-training themselves into greater danger?
In meetings so far with two of the five bidders for the fleet contract both have confirmed that the trains can be built with any door operation scheme required meaning there is no excuse at all to remove the safety-critical guards. It has also emerged that Driver Only Operation, with its CCTV screen configuration, is the most expensive option.
Mick Cash RMT General Secretary said:
“The time has come from Merseytravel to put safety first and to start answering the unions straightforward and legitimate questions over the core safety issues that surround the new Merseyrail trains.
“It is crystal clear from RMT’s campaign the public overwhelmingly support the retention of the safety-critical guards and as there is no business or design case for removing these staff there is no reason why the Combined Authority can’t clearly specify to the train builders that the guards must be retained on the new fleet.
“RMT’s campaign continues.”
ends
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