A leaked report, purportedly from the London Assembly Conservatives to Mayor of London Boris Johnson, proposes that all London Underground trains should be driverless. The Conservative report claims that removing drivers would not only save Transport for London an estimated £141 million per year in wages, but would also prevent future strike action.

The memo to Mr Johnson states that technology is already being used on the Central and Victoria lines which means that drivers are little more than door openers. It adds that upgrade work currently taking place will mean that this will also soon be the case on the Circle, District, Piccadilly, Jubilee, Northern, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City Lines.

The report also concludes that driverless trains would be more efficient, faster and safer than they are at present, and free from the militant union’s ability to call a strike.

General secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, Bob Crow said that the memo had been poorly thought out and that no consideration for passenger safety had been taken into account. He added that in the event of something going wrong, like a terrorist attack or a derailment, he did not think the public would appreciate being stuck in a tunnel without a driver.

Transport for London confirmed that the Central and Victoria lines were operated automatically, but added that there was always an operator in the driver’s cab. The spokesman for TfL added that having a member of staff on board reassured passengers and meant that any problems which occurred could be swiftly dealt with.