1.

Background
Driver Controlled Operation (DCO) of trains was introduced to ScotRail in 1985. Under DCO
the driver and not a conductor, is responsible for safe operation of the train. The second
member of staff on each service retails tickets and assists customers. In Scotland, DCO is
only used on electric train services. Its use was extended 4 times in the last franchise as new
routes were electrified. 51% of ScotRail services are now DCO, carrying 59% of passengers.
ScotRail plans to extend DCO to Edin-Glasgow; Edin-Dunblane; Glasgow-Alloa; and Shotts
routes as new electric trains are introduced between 2016 & 2019. The existing electric
services of North Berwick and Carstairs routes will also be converted to DCO. DCO is
important because:

Services are more punctual because the drivers control the passenger doors.
Fewer cancellations and greater resilience to industrial action as a wider pool of staff
can perform the duties of the second member of staff diagrammed to each service.
Incorporating the new routes means 57% of services, carrying 77% of passengers are
DCO; and
Operating costs reduce

Extending DCO was part of the franchise bid. It is critical to maximising economic benefit
from SG investment to increase capacity and reduce journey times on the key central belt
routes.
Trade unions are opposed to DCO. Conductor operation means 2 skilled posts on every train
making services harder to operate during industrial action. Disputes are taking place in
England regarding introduction of DCO. Scotland is one of the few areas where it is a long
established operation.
2.

Customer Benefit

More reliable journeys

We are introducing new trains which will be 3 times more reliable than the diesel trains they
replace. For customers to benefit fully from this [350m] investment we need to ensure we
operate the trains in the most reliable manner, ie. our processes dont become the weak
link:

Trains take upto 15 seconds less in their station calls when drivers open and close
the doors compared with a conductor. Our new electric trains are planned to
operate more than 450 services per day. Taking 15 seconds less at each station will
save 550 minutes in journey time per day or 175,000 minutes pa compared to today.

This means many more of our trains will arrive on-time compared to today.

It is easier to deploy Ticket Examiners on a wider range of services than Conductors,

particularly at short notice during periods of disruption. This means around 100
fewer trains will be cancelled each year because we dont have the right staff
available.

Fewer customers will be inconvenienced by unnecessary industrial action in future.

Faster journey times

The ability to consistently deliver more reliable journeys will allow us to be less
conservative in timetabling our services. As well as delivering commitments such as
the 20% reduction in journey time between Edinburgh and Glasgow this will allow us
to reduce those on other routes including Stirling to Edinburgh of less than 45 min
and Stirling to Glasgow of around 35 min.
Customer Service

Having the driver open and close the doors frees up the second member of staff on
each train to solely focus on delivering excellent customer service. As well as
retailing tickets and assisting customers all of our on train staff have smart phones
and can access real time information on connections and disruption.

The second member of staff will be more visible to customers throughout the train
as there is no need for them to access the rear cab. The confidence there is a second
member of staff on the train will provide customers with increased confidence of
their safety and security.