On the 27th of October the ETF presents in Brussels its campaign to keep train crew on trains. Actions will be taken by the ETF affiliates at national level on the 29th of October and trade unions from Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have confirmed initiatives for that date.
The priorities of on-board staff: comfort and security for all passengers
“The role of on-board railway personnel is far from checking tickets only” says Sabine Trier, ETF Deputy General Secretary. “They have an important task in assuring comfort and security on-board for the passengers, guaranteeing assistance to people with disabilities and they also have important tasks for railway safety, such as safe door closure, train departure and management of the evacuation of the train in case of need”. The human presence on board cannot simply be replaced by technology and machines: keeping well trained on-board staff is a way to assure the travel experience is as pleasant as possible for everybody. On-board personnel also play a key role in situations where a proper evacuation of the train has to be put in place, because the driver is unconscious or in case of incidents and accidents.
The campaign aims to raise awareness about the role that on-board staff plays for quality and safe services and about the risks of removing these workers from the trains to cut the costs of personnel. Trains without on-board staff are spreading to the detriment of the comfort and safety of the passengers. Railway companies are introducing more and more of these trains without taking sufficiently into consideration the consequences in terms of quality of the services.
For questions or further information, please contact Sabine Trier (ETF), s.trier@etf-europe.org, T. +32 (0) 2 285 46 67; M: +32 (0) 477 51 28 14 or Andrea Albertazzi, a.albertazzi@etf-europe.org, T: +32 (0) 2 285 45 88.