Tube Driver saves fallen Child as Arguments for Driverless Trains continue

Hot on the heels of Boris Johnson's "vote catching" pledge for driverless Tube trains trains today, train drivers union Aslef have shown how real drivers are still needed in emergencies. A five year old boy had fallen into the gap between the carriage and platform on Sunday & was rescued after the driver of the London Underground train spotted a hand reaching up from the track at Finchley Road station.


Busy Finchley Road by brapps
General secretary Mick Whelan said: "On Sunday all the automatic devices showed the platform was clear. Only a driver could have averted a potential tragedy. Boris Johnson is wrong to continue to push his policy for driverless tube trains when it can threaten the lives of London’s travelling public. I want him to accept that it is a mistake.

Anyone can make an error, but only an irresponsible person will persist with it.."

London Underground's network services director Nigel Holness responded by saying "The whole design and operation of the network would be different with driverless trains and therefore we cannot compare the two.

"Many incidents on the network are, and will always be, customer-related and we will of course always provide fully for handling those safely and efficiently."

Bob Crow, General Secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, used this as a chance to pipe in on the argument too and said: "The lethal reality of Boris Johnson's driverless trains plan is exposed in this one incident.

"From 7/7 through to a child rescued from the tracks by a vigilant driver, Londoners need to understand the truth that you cannot play politics when lives and safety are at stake every minute of the working day."

Amongst the political battle of words do you think the unions have a point? Or are they ignoring the other safeguards that surely would be put into place to prevent potentially dire consequences of having driverless trains?

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