IT WOULD be hard to argue with most of Fraser Pithie's analysis of the issues with the fragmented passenger railway system (RM, Feb 2020), and what needs to be done urgently to address these issues. However, he ignores the'elephant in the room'- that of industrial relations across the industry. Train drivers carry an enormous responsibility (I have until recently been a driver on a heritage railway) and well deserve to be amply rewarded. However, the public does not deserve to be gouged by strikes, however legal, which disrupt their plans, journeys and lives. Decent human resource management and proper mutual relations between management and unions will do much to reduce antagonism, often so apparent.
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