The Southern Drivers’ Strike: Confusing and Disingenuous

The great Liverpool FC manager, Bill Shankly, recalled an incident when he was taking part in a 5-a-side training session. Acting as referee was the shy Chris Lawler, the then regular Liverpool full back and man of very few words. In a goalmouth melee, Bill Shankly claimed his shot had crossed the line for a goal. In the ensuing disagreement, Bill referred it to Chris Lawler, asking him whether it was a goal or not. “No, boss” replied Chris. To which Bill Shankly sharply responded, “The first word you’ve ever spoken and it’s a lie!”

Turning seamlessly to the satirical current affairs TV programme, Have I Got News for You, regular panellist Ian Hislop recently suggested renationalising the railways, advocating a policy unequivocally associated with left wing politics. His views were delivered when discussing the interminable Southern Railway drivers’ strike. Hislop mentioned his years as a commuter and said nothing to dispel the impression that he commuted by Southern. In case he’s confusing two of the rail franchises, he commutes to and from Stonegate station on Southeastern’s line from London Charing Cross to Hastings.

His view is rather typical of those of a left-wing persuasion who are disingenuously combining the main problem of the privatised railway’s success, overcrowding, with the chaos caused by the completely unnecessary Southern train drivers’ strike. The aim, in line with Jeremy Corbyn’s, and indeed the railway unions’, is the renationalisation of the railways. Ironically the unions’ grievance, such that it is, is with the government, not Southern Rail (see below). So nationalisation is the last solution anyone should advocate. However, the vast majority of Southern’s commuters know the blame for the disruption lies squarely with the unions. But the unions’ inconsistent and incoherent stance has, for them, conveniently complicated the picture and obfuscated their culpability. So it’s worth delving into the background of the dispute.

Southern trains in their rather smart green livery operate from London Victoria and London Bridge, through south London, Surrey and Sussex to, and along, the south coast. The core section is London to Brighton. The line is shared by another franchise, Thameslink, with its new trains in their unremarkable white livery gradually replacing the older, predominantly dark-blue liveried trains. Thameslink is probably the greatest legacy of Ken Livingstone’s time as London mayor. The reopening of the old Snow Hill tunnels from Farringdon to Holborn Viaduct station (later replaced by City Thameslink) gave all sorts of new travel possibilities through central London (via the so-called “Widened Lines”) linking the lines from St Pancras and soon King’s Cross (the Great Northern franchise) to lines south of the Thames. It was envisaged that the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchises would be combined and they now form the expanded TSGN franchise, operated by the company Govia Thameslink Railway. But for the time being, the component franchises operate separately.

Thameslink are introducing their new class 700 driver-only operated (DOO) trains on the line from Brighton running alongside Southern Trains. On DOO trains the driver is responsible for opening and closing the sliding doors, as opposed to the guard being responsible. DOO trains have been around since the 1980’s and about a third of the British railway system is DOO. All of the London Underground is DOO. The key is to make sure the driver has a good view of the doors before closing them. This has evolved from mirrors and CCTV monitors on the platform, to the current – and arguably the safest – system where trains have been fitted with cameras at all of the doorways which are monitored in the driving cab by CCTV.  Since 2003, all Southern trains have been so fitted whether they’ve been DOO or not. Southern say their expansion of DOO trains does not mean a reduction of their staff as a result, rather that the erstwhile door-closing guards will be more focused on customer care and revenue protection. If there are 2 staff members on each train, the requirement of only one “safety-critical” person per train, the driver, means that trains wouldn’t be cancelled if only the driver turned up.

ASLEF (the drivers’ union) and the Rail and Maritime Trades union (the guards) say their members employed on the Southern franchise by Govia are on strike because they believe safety is compromised by driver- only operation. The unions say that passengers may become trapped in the doors of DOO trains if the driver fails to see them. This is despite the fact that the rail regulator says it’s a safe system, with literally a 30-year track record. The unions can point to the older trains (ie pre 2003) where the view from the cab and the cab hardware isn’t as good as in the more modern (post 2003) stock.

However, and rather confusingly, the beginning of the disruption by ASLEF drivers in April 2016 coincided with the delivery of new driver-only operated trains to the Southern, specifically for the Gatwick Express. The new (red!) 12-coach trains are longer than the previous 10 coaches, to reduce overcrowding, and have cameras, monitored in the cab, at every doorway so the driver can check for obstructions before closing the doors. ASLEF claimed that the extra length put too much pressure on the driver and was therefore unsafe. This was however legally challenged by Govia and the union withdrew their claim.

The current situation has become even more confusing. The unions are objecting to the extension of DOO trains on the Southern. But a strike against Southern (ie Govia) and its passengers is a pointless inconvenience because DOO trains are a Department of Transport, ie government, requirement. This is based on a report commissioned by the latter and the Office of Rail Regulation which states that the default position for all services should be DOO. There are inconsistencies in the unions’ position. If they’re against DOO trains in general, why haven’t they been campaigning more vigorously since the 1980’s? If it’s against the older trains being DOO then they should be pleased they’re being replaced. And if it’s against the new DOO trains why haven’t they been campaigning against the longer class 700 trains of Thameslink on the same lines? Or indeed any other new trains being delivered?

Since privatisation, passenger numbers have more than doubled; the railway in its operations is safer and stations are more secure and more welcoming; the average age of the stock has reduced considerably and the more passenger-focused attitude of the train operating companies has transformed the industry. The problem is that investment in major infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with passenger numbers. The line that Southern and Thameslink share from Brighton is going to become even more crowded with the new travel opportunities offered by the link to the Great Northern franchise lines. The Brighton line’s capacity has always been hindered by a mere double track section between Brighton and Three Bridges, 25 miles to the north. However, for less than 20 miles of reopened track, a line that currently terminates at Uckfield could again be used as a diversionary route from London to Brighton. The onus is on the government to provide the infrastructure that the burgeoning passenger numbers require, not inefficiently run the railways at every level implied by nationalisation.

It seems that the Private Eye editor has much in common with Jeremy Corbyn, but also Chris Lawler. Ian Hislop recently expressed his first opinion related to his own political views, and it’s a lie!