A PUBLIC meeting in Stirling this week will give people the chance to understand why ScotRail guards are currently committed to a campaign of industrial action.

As previously reported, members of trade union RMT have been striking over driver controlled operation (DCO) and driver only operation (DOO) safety issues after a breakdown in negotiations with operators Abellio in June.

All are welcome to attend the public meeting in Stirling's Albert Halls on Tuesday, July 19, from 6pm to 8pm. It is understood representatives from both sides as well as local politicians have been invited to the event.

An experienced guard/conductor, who has been in the job for many years and wished to remain anonymous, explained to the Advertiser this week that the company wants to do away with the conductor role and make them all ticket examiners.

He told how a train can leave the station without a ticket examiner if there is not one available, but not without a guard, who has an important safety role.

Ticket examiners are mainly responsible for making sure everyone has paid for their journey and have small safety responsibilities, while a guard is continually trained to deal with any emergency situation that may arise, it is understood there are more than 30 skills to master. Ticket examiners do not operate doors.

The guard said: “No disrespect to the ticket examiner, they've got some safety [responsibilities], but they can't go on the line in emergencies.

“My concern personally is that although they are saying that 57 per cent of the railway network within Scotland run DOO … and that there's two members of staff on all trains, the driver and the ticket examiner, but I can assure you that isn't true – 200 to 400 trains a week run without a ticket examiner on-board.

“They are putting them on trains in the morning time, which are busier, and take them off the [less busy] trains at night, where all the trouble happens – you can imagine.”

Guards have been told they will get the same pay and conditions in the next nine years or until the end of the franchise, but they fear for the safety of passengers. The guard believes driver operated doors are “completely unsafe”.

ScotRail has previously said DCO/DOO is and has been safe, but there have been a number of “trap and drag” and other incidents on networks around the UK.

In May, our sister paper the Herald Scotland reported how a man suffered “life-changing” injuries after he fell between the platform and a moving train at Dumbarton East station.

The Herald understood the man was struck by a driver only train and the incident was highlighted by the RMT and is being investigated by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch. It is also believed he was behaving aggressively as the service pulled away.

The guard added: “Surely, me on the train as a conductor or guard, staying on the platform, making sure everybody is on and off, the wheelchair passengers are on – surely that's safer than the driver sitting in the cab, looking at a camera, which during winter and fogginess they can't see.

“And see, as soon as that train moves, the camera goes off. So [the driver] can't see what's happening behind him.”

The Advertiser understands the CCTV monitors switch off when the doors have closed, the service has pulled away and reached 2mph.

A ScotRail spokeswoman said: “Dedicated cameras fixed to the outside of each carriage give the driver a close up view of all doors to see passengers getting on and off.

"The image quality of these bodyside cameras is extremely sharp. A flashing indication on each monitor confirms the image is live.

“On a typical six car train, it’s like having six pairs of eyes checking that all is well."

There is also the issue of assisting disabled passengers, it is understood the driver cannot leave the cabin to do that, but ticket examiners can help, if they are present.

The guard said the issue with DOO trains goes back far as 1984. He added guards do not just “walk up and down the train, opening and shutting doors”, they all have dossiers full of incidents that happened while they were on duty “from sexual assaults, to having to put a fire out”, giving first aid or conducting a controlled evacuation. Each guard has a different stories.

He said: “The bottom line is, I'm more than just opening and closing doors”, adding: “I'm focusing on looking after every man, woman and child on that train.”

There are a wide-range of topics to be discussed at the public meeting, where people will have the chance to gain a deeper insight into the issues.