Leeds: Save our train guards


Iain Dalton, Leeds Socialist Party

RMT members and supporters protested outside a West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) meeting against plans for driver-only operated trains on the Northern and TransPennine Express rail franchises.

The proposals will mean the end of guards on the vast majority of services in the North of England, posing huge safety concerns. Combined with plans to cut station staff and reduce the numbers and opening hours of ticket offices, this is a recipe for disaster for commuters and rail workers alike.

The proposals had been drawn up jointly by the Tory government through the Department for Transport (DfT) and, shamefully, by Rail North – a shadowy group comprised of predominantly Labour-run authorities in north England (including WYCA).

Three Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) local election candidates joined the protest. As one RMT member quipped to me: “TUSC aren’t the only party here – it’s just that you’re the only ones out here with us. Labour are sat inside [making the cuts].”