One-man operation

One-man operation (OMO), also known as driver-only operation (DOO), one person operation (OPO), single person train operation (SPTO), or one-person train operation (OPTO), is operation of a train, bus, or tram by the engineer or motorman alone, without a conductor.

On one-man operated passenger trains, the engineer must be able to see the whole train to make sure that all the doors are safe for departure. On curved platforms a CCTV system, mirror or station dispatch staff are required.

Although extra infrastructure such as cameras and mirrors might require additional investment, one-man operation is usually faster and cheaper to implement than automatic train operation, requiring a smaller investment in, for example, platform intruder detection systems and track protection (fencing, bridge-caging, CCTV etc.). In some cases, one-man operation can be seen as an intermediate step towards automatic train operation.

While European freight trains are normally one-man operated, the larger North American freight trains are almost exclusively manned by a conductor as well as the engineer.

While one-man operation is popular and on the rise among the train operating companies as it reduces the number of crew required and correspondingly reduces costs, it is for that reason controversial and is often strongly opposed by trade unions, often claiming that it is an unsafe practice.

United Kingdom
On the British railway network, around 30% of the passenger traffic are one-manned or driver-only operated (DOO). The remaining 70% employ approximately 6,800 guards. The term 'guard' is the common name used for the role which is referred to the 'conductor'; it is also the name used in the railway's rule book. Many train companies use alternative names for the role (conductor, senior conductor, train manager), but the role is the same regardless of the train operator.

On the UK light railways and tramways, conductors have all but disappeared in an operational sense and now the term 'conductor' is commonly used for revenue and customer service staff. Historically 'operational' conductors were the 'norm' on all systems including the London Underground (who used the term 'guard' like the mainline railway). With exception to the Blackpool system, London Underground and Glasgow Subway – all current UK light rail systems are of modern construction and were built as 'new' for 'one-man' operation.

British buses also once had 'operational' conductors on most services, most buses were front engined meaning the passenger saloon door had to be behind the driver's cab. The last buses to have a conductor are in London on the remaining AEC Routemaster double-deck buses, otherwise all UK buses are 'one-man operated' or OMO.

London
All trains on the London Underground are single-manned. Conversion to one-man operation began in 1984 and was completed in 2000.

TFL now operates 100% of its London Overground network as driver-only trains. The latest conversion was announced in July 2013 on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) challenged the move, claiming passenger safety would be compromised. Transport for London replied that at the time the East London Line, already one-man operated, has one door-related incident for every seven million passengers, while the section of the network which currently uses conductors has one door-related incident for every four million passengers. On 16 August 2013, the RMT called a 48-hour strike over the August bank holiday weekend.

According to the RMT, the proposal set forth by Transport for London would imply driver-only operations on the whole of the London Overground network and make 130 guards redundant. London Overground Rail Operations stated in response that they had given "the RMT assurances on employing conductors in alternative customer service roles and offering a generous voluntary redundancy package to those who want it." According to RMT, the proposals to implement driver-only operations are in response to the 12.5% reduction in Transport for London's funding announced in Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's Comprehensive Spending Review.

England and Wales
By 21 July 2010, Sir Roy McNulty, chair of the major value for money inquiry of the rail industry in the United Kingdom, tabled a scoping report titled Realising the potential of GB rail commissioned by the Department of Transport (DfT) and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). The report recommended that "the default position for all services on the GB rail network should be DOO (driver-only operation), with a second member of train-crew only being provided where there is a commercial, technical or other imperative", in order to reach the overall industry goal of a "30% unit cost reduction" by around 2018. The RMT stated that "any proposed extensions of DOO would be fought by the union on grounds of safety and efficiency".

The British government has proposed the extension of driver-only trains as a part of the new Northern franchise and has left it optional to the new operators of the Trans Pennine franchise. Additionally it has been proposed for the new Hitachi Super Express Trains which will be in use on the East Coast and Great Western franchises.

In April 2016, drivers belonging to the ASLEF trade union refused to pick up passengers using DOO on the new Class 387 trains on the Gatwick Express route. This is the system currently used for the 10-car Class 442 used on Gatwick Express, but the union claimed that extending this to 12-car trains put too much pressure on the driver and was unsafe. The operators Govia Thameslink Railway took legal action, and the union ultimately dropped the claim.

In the summer of 2016, guards working for Southern and belonging to the RMT trade union went on strike over plans to introduce DOO on more Southern services.

Scotland
More than 56% of First ScotRail's trains are one-man operated. When ScotRail launched a plan to implement one-man operations on the newly opened Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link in 2010, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) staged several strikes, claiming that the system was unsafe. ScotRail replied that they had been using one-man operated trains since the 1980s, and that the Class 334 trains planned for the Airdrie-Bathgate line had not even been delivered with a conductor's door panel. The strikes were ultimately ended by the unions, in part because of disagreements within the RMT about which principal stand to take on one-manned operations. Other sources point to a "strike breaker" clause in ScotRail's contract, which enabled ScotRail to draw compensation from Scottish taxpayers during a strike, as another factor in the union's ending of the strikes. Even though the trains are now driven without a guard, a ticket inspector is still present on every train, although the ticket inspectors are paid less than guards.

Current driver-only / one-man operations

 * London Underground – Has operated an entirely driver-only or one-man operated service since 2000. Certain Underground trains (on the Jubilee, Central, Victoria and Northern lines) are driven automatically with a 'train operator' to carry out other duties such as door operation.
 * Light rail and bus – Most light rail system in the UK are 'one man' operated, although most systems employ some form of ticket examiner for revenue and customer service reasons. Incidentally, the Docklands system operates automatically with a member of staff carrying out much of the role of a conductor, but also has the ability to take manual control of the train. Nearly all bus services in the United Kingdom are one-man operated, this includes long distance coach services such as National Express. There is part of Route 15 in London that uses conductors and several other bus routes in London where a customer assistant is provided for much of the day.
 * Abellio Greater Anglia – Most trains operating out of Liverpool Street are driver-only operated as far north as Colchester, with the exception of trains operated by 'locomotive hauled' trains and some trains that operational requirements demand the presence of a guard / conductor.
 * c2c – Operates an entirely driver-only operated train service.
 * Chiltern Railways – Services operating south of Banbury towards London are driver-only operated with the exception of their 'locomotive hauled' services.
 * Great Western Railway – Most 'Networker' Class 165 and 166 and 'Electrostar' British Rail Class 387 operated services are driver-only trains, operating mostly in the Thames Valley. For operational reasons 'Networker' services to Basingstoke, Gatwick Airport and services west of Oxford towards Worcester via the Cotswolds are operated with a guard / conductor.
 * Govia Thameslink Railway – Operates an entirely driver-only operated train service on the Thameslink and Great Northern sub-brands.
 * Heathrow Express – Operates an entirely driver-only operated service, they do provide a 'customer service representative' on board for revenue and customer service duties
 * London Overground – Has operated an entirely driver-only operated service since July 2013.
 * ScotRail – Most electric train services in the Strathclyde area are driver-only operated, although they maintain a ticket examiner on most DOO services for revenue and customer service duties.
 * Southeastern – Operate a large network of driver-only trains mainly around South London. The HS1 services are driver-only operated with an 'on board manager' for mainly revenue and customer service duties.
 * Southern – Operates driver-only trains in south London and on the Brighton mainline. As of 25 May 2017, Southern is involved in a dispute with both the RMT and ASLEF unions over the extension of driver-only trains across their network.

Safety
The UK rail safety regulator, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has stated that its research found no increased risks from driver-only operation.

"We have 30 years of data which we have analysed. We have found that the driver performing the task does not increase the risk to passengers at all."

"We have published several research projects over the last 15 years on various aspects of DOO on passenger trains. None of these pieces of work has identified any increased risk from dispatching a train without a guard being present – providing the correct procedures have been followed. In fact, the removal of any possible miscommunication, which could exist between driver and guard could, potentially, deliver some safety benefits. If we had found evidence to suggest that DOO was not safe when done correctly, we would say so."

In December 2016, the overall rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) responded by letter to the Transport Select Committee's enquiry into rail safety. In their related press release an ORR spokesman said:

"Trains with doors operated by drivers (known in the industry as ‘Driver Only Operation’) have been in operation in Great Britain for more than 30 years. ORR has scrutinised this approach, and our inspectors are satisfied that with suitable equipment, proper procedures and competent staff in place, it is a safe method of working."

The RMT union disputes the independence of both the RSSB due to the involvement of train operating company representatives on the RSSB board. and says that both RSSB and ORR are disregarding wider safety issues by one-man working beyond the operation of the doors.

Present Southern Rail dispute
There is an ongoing dispute relating to driver-only operation on Southern Rail.