Thank you for contacting me about Driver Only Operation (DOO) on Govia Thameslink Railways (GTR). I have liaised on this with the rail operator.
They inform me that since December GTR have met the union eight times to discuss the changes but the union has gone down the route of industrial action.
Over 60 per cent of GTR's services apparently already operate without conductors and DOO trains have been safely operated on our rail network for over 30 years. In peak times around three DOO trains leave a London terminus per minute. It is used in other counties around the world including Germany and Japan.
The changes GTR propose they believe will lead to better journeys for passengers. With the new conductors no longer closing the doors (this will be done by the driver with the aid of CCTV), this frees up staff time on trains to serve passengers. There will be no compulsory job losses as a result of this service improvement and as many services will have staff on board as they do today. DOO should also lead to fewer train cancellations in future. At present conductors are tied to specific routes which, during periods of disruption, increases the risk of service cancellation if the conductor has been delayed on a previous service. With the new on-board role conductors can be allocated to trains across the entire GTR network more flexibly.
On a personal level I find the disruption appalling. I am however conscious that I put huge pressure on the Operators to improve the long term reliability of their service and at face value this would reduce the number of staff shortage induced cancellations without any job losses.
Thank you for contacting me.
