21st July 2010

DORCHESTER: �A camera won�t help a disabled person�

Mayor hits out at proposals to scrap porters at train station

by Paul Crompton

DISABLED and elderly passengers travelling from Dorchester’s railway stations are to be left without help when the porter system is scrapped.

The town’s mayor, Councillor Les Phillips has slammed the idea to cut the man-hours at the town’s South Station by replacing the platform guards with a CCTV screen system.

The introduction of the scheme will mean those passengers who are unable to join and disembark trains without help could be left stranded.

As the consultation with trade unions is on-going, the implementation of the scheme and how many members of staff will be affected is not yet known.

Councillor Phillips, who is also president of the town’s Stroke Club and chairman of the Dorset Association for the Disabled, said he was worried about how the changes would impact passengers lives.

Councillor Phillips said: “There are disabled people who travel the Weymouth to Bristol line and there is never anybody on the station, but there is someone on the southern station.

“There are disabled people who travel on the Weymouth outline that need help to get on and off with baggage by a porter, so if they stop that people won’t be travelling on trains.

“A lot of disabled people in Dorchester cannot get buggies on busses and so go by train. The move will have a detrimental affect on people, especially disabled travellers in the town.

“I know people, disabled people, who need assistance to put on and off their luggage and I think it’s a bad thing to take away those porters from the platform. They keep cutting and cutting costs and it will end one day where people won’t travel if they cannot get help.

“A camera won’t help a disabled person on and off a train.”

The move follows a trial of CCTV screens, which allow trains to be dispatched by guards, across the country and which are already in use elsewhere on the UK rail network.

A spokeswoman for South West Trains said Dorchester South Station had been singled-out for the scheme when they assessed stations across their network which could benefit from the equipment.

The spokesman said: “We are currently consulting with the trade unions regarding the potential impact for staff at some of the stations where this equipment may be introduced, including Dorchester South Station.

“While we recognise the many other duties carried out by staff at our stations, there are already many stations on the South West Trains network where for some time we have run a safe and effective operation for our customers without having staff on the platform to dispatch trains.”

South West Trains have said the cutting of staff would not affect the ticket office opening hours at Dorchester South Station.