RAIL SAFETY chief George Bearfield came under fire yesterday after he claimed that trains would run more safely without guards.
Mr Bearfield, the system safety and health director at the industry-owned Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), argued that trains fully controlled by drivers are safer than those dispatched by guards.
The RSSB has made a number of interventions backing private franchisees in the current industrial dispute over expansion of driver-only operation. Rail unions warn that the practice threatens safety, disabled access and jobs.
EDDIE DEMPSEY explains why the RMT is calling for urgent action against assaults on staff and passengers on our public transport system
Our members face daily abuse, being spat at, sometimes even deadly assaults, and employers fail to take the issue seriously despite the increasing danger, writes RMT general secretary EDDIE DEMPSEY


