From the day it was opened the Victoria Line was designed and built to be
operated by automatic trains (the 1967 stock). The Automatic Train Operation
technology used was tested on the District Line between Ravenscourt Park and
Hammersmith(?) stations in the early 1960s. From a technical viewpoint it
was / is not actually necessary to have someone in the front cab at all, but
it was deemed to be a step too far to have "driverless" trains, as it would
have upset passengers, (and caused some staff relations issues), so the post
of Automatic Train Operator (ATO) was created. The ATO controls the opening
and closing of doors at the station and then presses two buttons on the
console to initiate the ATO "driving" process to the next station.



In the days when the other LT underground lines were all operated by a crew
of a motorman and a guard, there was a strict line of promotion. Motormen
got paid more than guards and ATOs got paid more than motormen, so the
people who became ATOs were the more senior staff who had longer service
with LT.





"Michael Bell" wrote in message
. uk...
In message
"Chris Read" wrote:

I've just watched the latest Video 125 drivers eye view, of the Victoria
line. Included as a bonus was some archive film covering the construction
and opening of the line. It appears that, from the outset, there were
CCTV
screens at platform end, giving operators a view of the platform.
However,
no mention was made of the purpose served by this facility.

So, was the Victoria line one person operated from the outset, or did the
screens serve some other purpose, and if so, what?

Whilst not, on the face of it, the most interesting DEV subject, this
made
surprisingly good viewing. Notably, the crossover just outside Brixton
station being taken at full line speed by the 'auto pilot', which
apparently
leads trainee operators, transferring from other lines, to grab for the
brake in panic!

Chris

Yes, so far as I know it was driver-only from the first.

Michael Bell


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