The Minister for Transport has already included a push for automation in an agreement between the government and TfL, which operates the London Underground, and received nearly £ 5 billion in financial support during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last June, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and TfL agreed to “make progress in converting at least one London Underground line to full automation, but with an escort on board” as part of the latest financing deal.
The Docklands Light Rail, which opened in 1987, is an automated rail, but others have not been built in the United Kingdom, despite decades. The Paris Metro is also partially automated.
In an interview, Mr Schaps criticized the strikes, warning that they could ultimately undermine RMT’s own members, as it could deter dozens of people from using the railways.
Mr Schaps said: “Mick Lynch may be holding the country for ransom, but what he is doing is keeping a gun at the head of his own industry. This is reckless vandalism.
“And if it continues, it could banish thousands of passengers forever and turn what should be a very bright future for the railroad, in which we are investing billions of pounds in expansion, into an inappropriate and irreversible decline.
“Not only has he forced his workforce into these false claims, but he is actually harming the interests of his own members by doing so.”
The formation was strongly denied by the RMT, which said its members had been neglected due to a three-year salary increase and warned that plans to modernize the government could jeopardize security.
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