A train driver at the heart of an eight-week trade union strike over his ‘unfair’ sacking allegedly fell asleep while operating a 125mph service.
The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) organised a 56-day strike at Hull Trains beginning on March 31 after they said one its members was unfairly sacked.
The dismissal was criticised by General Secretary Mick Whelan, who is said to have claimed Hull Trains had shown a ‘failure to act responsibly’ and claims the driver had only been dismissed because he had flagged a ‘safety concern’.
But a new letter has revealed the unnamed driver had experienced ‘fatigue matters’ while operating a 125mph service on more than one occasion, according to The Telegraph.
ASLEF has reportedly demanded Hull Trains offer the man his job back, but bosses at the railway company believe he is no longer fit to operate trains.
Railway chief Martijn Gilbert said the driver falling asleep while on duty was ‘a safety risk that we could not ignore’.
ASLEF organiser Nigel Roebuck is believed to have previously backed the driver, saying he had been working in the industry for more than two decades with ‘a completely clean safety record’ prior to his dismissal.
But now, it has even been alleged that it was the driver himself that admitted to falling asleep at the controls, after he mentioned it in passing a short while after it had occurred.
The sacking was criticised by General Secretary Mick Whelan (above), who claimed Hull Trains had shown a ‘failure to act responsibly’ and said the driver had only been dismissed because he had flagged a ‘safety concern’
But a new letter has revealed the unnamed driver had experienced ‘fatigue matters’ while operating a 125mph service on more than one occasion
ASLEF has demanded Hull Trains offer the man his job back, but bosses at the railway company believe he is no longer fit to operate trains
And in correspondence from Mr Gilbert to both Mr Roebuck and Mr Whelan, the railway boss is said to have told how the man had previously received help for ‘similar issues’.
The letter, which was reportedly sent to all Hull Trains staff, read: ‘The disclosures made by this driver, especially against a backdrop of previous similar issues where full support and feedback was given, presented us with a safety risk that we could not ignore.
‘Given the previous instances, including one within the 12 months prior to this where similar fatigue matters were also not properly reported, after much support and guidance we have reached a point where we cannot be confident that they can be trusted to properly report safety matters in a safe and appropriate way, so that we can support them and manage the risk.’
The incident has sparked concern as it could have caused a significant risk to passengers on board the service.
While trains are fitted with responsive systems such as the ‘dead man’s handle’, which automatically halts a train if it passes a red light signal, the vehicle could have been derailed from the track if it had switched to a line with a lesser speed limit.
Railway chief Martijn Gilbert (above) said the driver falling asleep while on duty was ‘a safety risk that we could not ignore’
The sacking also appears to have caused a divide within the trade union, after a large portion of its members were said to have not responded to the 56-day strike which was called after the man was dismissed.
The lack of support for the strike means only around 20 per cent of its services have been cancelled.
A spokesman for Hull Trains told the newspaper: ‘Hull Trains follows highly regulated industry standard agreements and procedures for safety. We have stringent safety reporting processes and provide extensive ongoing training and health and wellbeing support for our colleagues, which has secured industry recognition.
‘The safety concern claimed in the response by ASLEF is in direct relation to the individual concerned, but it would be inappropriate to comment further on a specific case.’
MailOnline has approached Hull Trains and ASLEF for full comment.