Stand Clear Of The Doors!

[bronchitikat]

The other week I was talking with someone about train travel and whether or not guards were necessary.

"If you want extra staff on trains, don't go whingeing about ticket prices," they said dismissively.  This was the day of the new (higher) rail prices.

"I don't whinge about ticket prices."  I replied firmly.  "Besides which, I generally book in advance and can travel at times when I can get significantly cheaper fares."

They continued, in the same somewhat dismissive tone.  "Look at the Docklands Light Railway.  They don't have guards and that's fine!"

At which point I thought I'd better keep quiet for a bit, they were driving after all.  I also thought that DLR was probably a fallacious argument.  Subsequently I did a bit of research (asked H, who Knows About things railway!)


DLR and guards not being needed on other railways is indeed a fallacious argument.

This was what I'd thought:-

1. DLR has a travel time of about two minutes between stations.  Five minutes is a Really Long gap between stations.
2. On other railways the travel time between stations can be as little as five minutes (eg: stations in Portsmouth.)   Once out of a city the time gap between stations varies between fifteen minutes and anything up to a couple of hours.
3. It is helpful to have someone on board the train who can give passengers their full attention - whether checking &/selling tickets, answering queries - because they actually KNOW - or just being there.  Particularly on long journeys.
4. Not everyone has Smartphones they can check details of travel, etc on.  I don't, for starters.  Besides which, there is a 'not-spot' on the Portsmouth-London line on the London side of Woking.  If there are phone 'not spots' in such a built up area, imagine what coverage might be like in places like the wilds of Devon and Cornwall, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Scotland?
5. If you're travelling alone late at night, or other times when there aren't many passengers, it's nice to have a guard around.  Particularly if there are other passengers who might be the worse for drink, etc.
6. And if you're having a medical emergency . . .

To which H added, the DLR has Train Captains who:-

• Check that passengers are clear of doors, before closing said doors (from the back of the train) and telling the 'driver' that it is safe to pull away.  There are many reported cases of people who have become trapped in doors somehow and have been dragged along a platform as the train pulled out on Driver Only Operated trains.  It happens.  It shouldn't.  It's potentially fatal.
• Open the doors when the train arrives at the next station.

Thus a Train Captain on the DLR is actually a Guard.  They've ditched the human driver, not the guard. The 'driver' is actually an on-board computer.  There are all sorts of electronic gubbins on board and on the tracks which guide it so that it stops in the correct position at each station.

Here's hoping the current Minister for Transport actually understands at least a bit about railways and their workings.  Particularly their safe workings, and allows those who really Know about such things to run the trains.  And the rolling stock.  And the lines and signalling.  Because the general opinion is that the previous incumbent didn't.

And maybe those who usually travel by car could check the facts before weighing in with their ideas.

There now, Pilates-ed, coffee-ed, washing done and out, I suppose I ought to take the duster and the re-conditioned Dyson round downstairs at least.  Yup, we have been too busy to testdrive it so far.  Only I'm feeling a bit feeble after Pilates, and, ooh look, it's nearly lunchtime!

Y'all have a good day now!

No, Dear Reader, I don't know why the type size suddenly changes.  I ain't the Tech-Wizz in this family.  I just (try to) use it.