Article: More crime, less facilities if staff taken from stations

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More crime, less facilities if staff taken from stations

by: Sherine Conyers
Maroochy Journal, Quest Newspapers
November 10, 2011 11:18AM

Link to story here:
http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/sunshine-coast/warning-of-danger-and-discomfort-if-stations-closed/story-fn8m0yxo-1226191170373

Commuter advocates warn taking staff from stations could see a greater risk to passenger safety and less toilets open.
The news came after the Courier-Mail reported Queensland Rail was considering removing staff from 16 Citytrain stations to save money.

The proposal was raised in enterprise bargaining negotiations with the Rail, Tram and Bus Union as a "trade-off" for pay rises in excess of 2.5 per cent a year.

One of the stations proposed to be unmanned is Palmwoods on the Sunshine Coast.

Palmwoods commuter Jeff Addison said the potential reduction of stuff was not only inconvenient it was also a security risk.

"It diminishes your safety and security.

"When the go card reader shows "seek assistance," who do you turn to?

"When you are a woman alone at the station and are concerned for your safety, who do you turn to?" he said.

Rail Back on Track spokesperson Robert Dow said the more stations that were unmanned, the less toilets available for passengers on the long commute home.

"When stations are closed they generally close toilets.

"If you've got stations that are closed and have closed toilets, there's no toilets on the rail bus, you're only option is to hope you get lucky with a toilet on a train.

"Other states don't do it, this is just cowboy stuff up here, it really does need a complete rethink on how they operate the long-haul services," he said.

Mr Dow said having stations with no staff in Melbourne had increased rail crime and resulted in the need to employ 700 prescribed service officers acting as armed guards on the network.

"What happened in Melbourne was a culture of lawlessness established around the rail network.

"In stations where they pulled staff out, the enemy gained ground .

"Do we want a culture in Queensland where we have armed guards at stations?" he said.

Mr Dow said for stations such as Landsborough, Glass House Mountains and Palmwoods there was an argument them open for longer.

"Staff do more than sell tickets. They offer information, they fix Go-Card problems, they offer information that's important for tourists visiting the Sunshine Coast," he said.[\quote]