London mayor criticised for train driver remarks

[John Ashworth]

London mayor criticised for train driver remarks

By Robert Wright, Transport Correspondent
FT
Published: January 14 2011 18:22 | Last updated: January 14 2011 18:30

Boris Johnson, London’s mayor faced widespread criticism on Friday after he suggested new signalling systems being introduced on several London Underground lines would mean anyone could be trained to drive a train in “a matter of weeks”.

The remarks were part of an attack on the Underground’s unions in a speech on Thursday evening. The system has suffered a series of strikes in recent months, both across the whole network and on individual lines.

However, railway experts and the system’s safety regulator pointed out that rules still required drivers on lines with the new, more advanced signalling systems to undergo full training. Drivers need to be able to drive trains themselves when the most sophisticated parts of modern signalling systems break down and to take trains into and out of depots.

Mr Johnson pointed out in his speech that, since Christmas, the section of the Jubilee line between Stratford and Neasden has been using a new signalling system that normally took control of trains between stations.

“Of course there will still need to be someone aboard the train,” he said. “But , thanks to the advanced signalling being installed, it is also a fact that anyone in this room could in a matter of a few weeks acquire the qualifications necessary to supervise an Underground train.”

The huge potential implications of the change would be obvious to everyone, he went on, adding that the trade unions should recognise Londoners’ patience was not endless.

“They should abandon the recent pattern of pointless strikes,” he said.

Railway experts pointed out that the new system being introduced on the Jubilee line was very similar to systems that have operated on the Victoria line since its opening in the late 1960s. Electronics have also controlled most train movements on the Central line since the late 1990s.

London Underground confirmed that drivers on both those lines were still required to undergo full training as drivers.

Rupert Brennan Brown, a veteran railway industry observer, said the mayor might not have fully understood the Underground’s complexities.

“The current automatic train operations in no way negate the requirement for skilled drivers, properly trained,” he said.

Tom Wake, head of the Transport for London team at the Office of Rail Regulation, said that, although he was unfamiliar with exact plans for the Jubilee line, he assumed the arrangements would be similar to those on the Central and Victoria.

“What they receive is ... a pretty full package of training,” he said.

The new signalling systems are being introduced to allow trains to run faster and closer together. After the Jubilee line, computer-controlled systems are due to be installed on the Northern line and the sub-surface network of lines including the Metropolitan and District.