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| Tube privatisation is to blame,
not drivers |
Safety on the Tube is taking second place to
profits, argues transport union chief Keith Norman
FOR three days last week those who live or work in Camden Town
found they had no Northern Line services. Here is what happened
from the point of view of London Underground’s drivers and
how we believe it can stop happening again.
Management – and of course drivers and other Tube workers –
had been aware for over a month that there were problems with a
back-up braking system on the Northern Line. All Tube trains are
fitted with a ‘tripping’ device that stops the train automatically
if a red signal is passed. It’s normal backup security for
public transport.
On September 9 a driver stopped at a red light. There was a signalling
fault, so he was told to proceed slowly. As he passed the light,
the emergency braking system should have activated. It did not.
As a precautionary measure drivers were ordered to test all trains
by driving them slowly through red signals. The system failed to
work on three more occasions. Last week the emergency braking system
failed on a fifth train. Drivers took the view that they could no
longer offer the levels of safety that the public demands, and some
refused to take trains out on this basis.
Aslef (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen) unhesitatingly
backed them up. Staff, like passengers, need to be fully confident
of the acceptable state of our capital’s Tube trains.
Some people have suggested that our members should have carried
on without the tripping system. We can’t agree. Safety has
got to be the first and primary consideration for public transport
systems. Maybe we’d have got away with it – but people
get on our Tube network for a journey, not a bet.
And can you imagine the reaction if we had ignored the failure of
the tripping device and one train had shunted into the back of another.
Who would have thanked us for failing to blow the whistle then?
They would have been too busy condemning drivers for taking unnecessary
risks.
However, the real question remains unanswered. That is not: Why
didn’t drivers take out defective trains? But: Why weren’t
the trains properly maintained?
And here we enter the murky world of privatisation.
Pressurised by government into public-private partnerships (PPP),
London Underground passed on its engineering maintenance to Tube
Lines, a private company. Tube Lines decided that, rather than do
the work themselves, they would subcontract it to another company,
Alstom. When Alstom’s budgets started to look stretched, it
eased up on its duties. Meanwhile the directors of these various
companies were dining out at our expense – and London’s
Tubes were deteriorating.
Eventually, after the fifth emergency braking system failure, London
Underground (LUL) realised the position was intolerable. A company
spokesman said: “It is clear that maintenance of the Northern
Line train fleet is not being done to the correct standards.”
LUL decided (for the first time under the PPP regime) to issue an
‘emergency direction notice’. This enables Underground
managers to direct and oversee Alstom’s efforts.
This brings us into the ‘mad’, rather than just ‘murky’,
aspects of privatisation. What is the point in having a maintenance
contract if you have to sort out the problems? There’s no point
in having a dog and barking yourself.
So who was to blame for the lack of service for the Northern Line’s
daily 660,000 passengers? The Underground say it’s private
contractors. They say the private subcontractors. And they say the
Underground, because it is ultimately responsible for the safety
of passengers.
Meanwhile 660,000 people a day have no Tubes on a line that has
increased delays by over 30 per cent since the private sector became
involved. Quite a record.
The reality is that if you leave the running of a railway to accountants,
it won’t work. It doesn’t work. It is the inherent folly
of privatising – or even part privatising – rail.
We believe the only way that the Tube system will provide a regular,
efficient and safe service is for LUL to take responsibility for
all its core operations. It is a public service. Last week proved
it needs public ownership.
As an immediate step we insist that Tube maintenance is brought
back in-house. Only committed workers with a long affinity to the
rail industry will guarantee that safety standards are paramount.
Work of so serious a nature cannot be left to the whims of firms
motivated by securing a return for investors.
The logic of this is to take the profit motive out of our public
services. Transport is not something that can be scrapped over like
punters at a cheap auction. The capital’s Tubes and buses need
to be coordinated. They need to support and back each other up so
that customers get a fair ride – not taken for one.
Profit cannot be the underlying motivation. This needs to be service.
Private firms think no further forward than the end of the tax year.
This isn’t a complaint – it is how they work. The point
is that it is no good for running our transport system – because
it needs to be planned and designed years – sometimes decades
– in advance. Private capital does not think in these terms.
If you need proof, think back to last week. And when you do –
please don’t blame the drivers. They were looking after the
safety of the public. Frankly, no one else looks keen to do it.
• Keith Norman (pictured) is general secretary of Aslef. |
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Give power to the people
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FULL STORY
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