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Britain’s rail safety watchdog today declared that driver-only operated trains are safe, in a dramatic intervention before next week’s planned rail strikes.

Inspectors rode in the cab alongside drivers on Southern trains to check union claims that using cameras to monitor doors and passengers is potentially dangerous.

The issue is at the heart of the ongoing dispute, which has caused months of misery for commuters.

The inspectors concluded that the system was safe for both passengers and drivers, but recommended that steps be taken to enhance the “adequate” image quality on the screens, including “immediate improvement” in the cleaning of camera lenses.

Ian Prosser, HM Chief Inspector of Railways, said: “Following a thorough review of GTR-Southern’s method and implementation of driver-only operation, the Office of Road and Rail is satisfied that with suitable equipment, proper procedures and competent staff in place, it is a safe method of working.

“ORR has made some recommendations for further improvements, including ensuring that CCTV image quality is consistently high. GTR-Southern has accepted and is in the process of implementing these recommendations.”

The official findings come ahead of a series of strikes, starting on Tuesday, that will halt services for 300,000 Southern passengers.

The walkouts are in protest over the implementation of driver-only operated (DOO) trains which the Aslef union says is unsafe — claims robustly denied by Southern and the rail industry.

The ORR revealed its findings after a series of on-the-track tests in both darkness and daylight, carried out on recently introduced DOO trains be-tween Horsham and Bognor Regis.

But instead of vindicating Aslef claims that drivers cannot effectively monitor banks of screens showing images of the train doors, the report said that the system could be safer in some circumstances than the traditional guard and driver combination.

Unlike a conductor, who could not see the length of the train when it was moving, the driver could watch screens as the train left until it reached 4mph, offering “clear safety benefits”.

The report revealed that Southern’s own tests had found poor lighting and visibility at some stations, which required improvements such as clearing away foliage.

Southern had given a “categorical assurance” that DOO would not be introduced at these stations without extra staff to ensure safety.

The ORR report stressed that the rail company and drivers were under a duty to try to improve safety further, and the watchdog would not hesitate to step in if breaches were reported.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, the train drivers’ union, said: "Despite what Southern Rail is disingenuously claiming, the report from the Office of Rail and Road does not give driver only operation a clean bill of health. It doesn’t say it is safe, merely that it can be safe.

"You will notice that Ian Prosser, HM Chief Inspector of Railways, is careful to qualify his remarks and say “with suitable equipment, proper procedures, and competent staff in place” it can be a method of working. And, indeed, Ian goes on to say that the ORR has made a long list of recommendations for further improvements because they fear it is not safe. Those recommendations, the company concedes, are not yet in place."

