Ghan to hell: 2 staff for 126 passengers

A company accused of showing "scant regard for the safety of 
its own workforce" is being exposed for moving disabled 
passengers off luxury trains with forklifts. 

Great Southern Railways, which operates the Indian Pacific and 
The Ghan, is also alleged to be emptying toilets on its way 
across the World Heritage Listed Blue Mountains.

According to the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) safety has been 
an ongoing issue with the operator since its inception in 1997.

Crews, who are often working shifts of up to 17 hours with only 
one or two breaks, point to understaffing, with 75 percent of all 
trains departing short handed.

Scant regard

Two staff are expected to look after the needs of up to 126 
passengers. 

"Imagine running a hotel with 126 guests with only two staff", 
said Greg Harvey from the RTBU, who believes that the company's 
scant disregard for its workforce is now extended to its 
passengers. "One person is expected to make 48 bunk beds in an 
hour while the train is travelling through the Blue Mountains".

Other issues that have been highlighted by workers include 
hospitality staff having to manually unblock toilets (leaving 
them covered in waste, for which they have been given an apron), 
burns from unsafe kitchen appliances, untagged electrical 
equipment, needlestick injuries and inadequate amenities.

"The carpet in the staff accommodation is so dirty that mushrooms 
are growing in the corner", said Greg Harvey. "One employee was 
hit in the face by an unsecured fridge door, which left his 
glasses broken. The company refused to replace the glasses 
because they didn't want to 'set a precedent'".

Casualisation

According to the RTBU Great Southern Railways, who are covered by 
South Australian safety laws, has a high rate of casualisation, 
leaving workers frightened to speak up through fear of the 
company refusing them work.

"There's nine crews operating on the Great Southern Railway and 
we wanted health and safety representatives on each crew", said 
Mr Harvey. "But they offered us one or two, which is 
ineffective".

"I'd like to say it was unbelievable but nothing surprises me any 
more," he said when disabled passengers were removed from 
carriages by using forklifts. "Why should they resort to that 
when there are things like mobile platforms and ramps that have 
been used in the past."

Management are on the record claiming that the forklift procedure 
was "100 percent" safe.