Similarly in London, trains on some Underground lines are almost automated. They have drivers, whose job is to push the open/close door buttons at stops and keep an eye on things; once the doors are closed, the train drives itself to the next stop. This is largely to placate the unions.
The TFL would need to spend an absolute fortune to upgrade all the antiquated stations and rolling stock whilst keeping the underground largely functional.
It’s just standard rightwing media cant to lay the blame on the unions.
The DLR is fully automated, though there is a fold away drivers position for use when necessary. iirc It never runs at street grade and sometimes does have software issues which makes things interesting.
I am pretty sure the victoria line has drivers for show. It was one of the very first lines to be automated and, at the time, it was thought that passengers would panic if there were no driver, so they kept with tradition.
Similarly in London, trains on some Underground lines are almost automated. They have drivers, whose job is to push the open/close door buttons at stops and keep an eye on things; once the doors are closed, the train drives itself to the next stop. This is largely to placate the unions.
Partially, not largely.
The TFL would need to spend an absolute fortune to upgrade all the antiquated stations and rolling stock whilst keeping the underground largely functional.
It’s just standard rightwing media cant to lay the blame on the unions.
The DLR is fully automated, though there is a fold away drivers position for use when necessary. iirc It never runs at street grade and sometimes does have software issues which makes things interesting.
I am pretty sure the victoria line has drivers for show. It was one of the very first lines to be automated and, at the time, it was thought that passengers would panic if there were no driver, so they kept with tradition.