TRAIN guards took up positions at Basingstoke railway station this week as they walked out on strike.

Members of the RMT trade union took strike action yesterday (Wednesday) and were due to today (Thursday) as part of a dispute with South Western Railway (SWR) over the role of guards on trains.

The union fears an extension of driver only operations (DOO) on the network whereby guards are no longer on trains.

SWR guards and RMT members were at Basingstoke railway station yesterday (Wednesday) and were due to be today (Thursday) as around 40 percent of train services across the SWR network were affected due to the industrial action with some areas of the network being replaced by buses.

Mick Tosh, RMT Wessex region organiser, said: “It’s entirely about safety. We had guarantees from the previous company that no train would move without two people on it, and there are talks about moving it down to one person.

“Under DOO, it can be very unsafe as if the driver is incapacitated, there would not be another member of staff around to make sure that the passengers are safe. Having a guard means that evacuations are safe, and that communications are kept up.”

The guards at Basingstoke picketed the front of the station, handing out leaflets with information, and talking with people about the strike. They argued the strike was over passenger safety, not about pay or jobs.

Mr Tosh added: “The role of the guard is not just about opening the doors and sending off the trains, they are well-trained people who look after passenger’s safety, including disabled passengers.

“Having no guard means that anyone who is disabled looking to travel on the train has to contact the train before they travel.

“We have put forward achievable, workable goals to SWR, and we are waiting on a response from them.”

SWR has said it has repeatedly assured RMT it plans to keep two safetytrained employees on its trains. A spokesman added: “Many passengers heeded our advice to travel earlier, and although services were busier than usual, everyone was delivered safely to their destinations.”