Londoners do not want a staffless, driverless and soulless Tube system, says Christian Wolmar in a speech to the forthcoming conference on the London Underground organised by the RMT.

The ideas being promoted by Boris Johnson for cabless and driverless new trains are not about encouraging people to use the Underground but are part of a campaign to destaff large swathes of the system. In fact, for safety reasons, London Tube trains will always need to be staffed and the only convenient place would be at the front, so the idea of ‘cabless’ trains are merely a way of suggesting that it is possible to run the service without people. That will never happen.

As many Londoners know, several lines are already controlled automatically and there is no problem over that issue. The key point is that a member of staff must be on board to help and control the train in an emergency.

Stations, too, must remained staffed for the whole time they are open. People use the Tube because they know that they are safe and that help is at hand if there is trouble. The unstaffed stations of the National Rail network are often little used at night precisely because people fear for their safety.

Wolmar, who is the sole declared candidate for the Labour nomination for the London 2016 mayoral election, pledged to ensure that all stations would remain staffed if elected: ‘I recognise that ticket offices may be redundant at the lesser used stations. However, there must always be a member of staff available to help people buy tickets and to provide information for people negotiating the system for the first time.’

He added: ‘I remember trying to use the metro system in Seoul last year at stations where there were no staff available and the system was difficult to understand. The London Underground must never become like that’.

Wolmar says that maintaining the quality of the Underground system is all important: ‘The last thing we need is people being worried about their security and safety in the system. The Underground is the capital’s lifeblood and must remain the mode of choice for Londoners, as otherwise they will use their cars and clog up the streets even further.’

He said that Transport for London should, in fact, take over more suburban lines from the rail companies to bring them up to the standard of the London Overground. This is already happening on the former West Anglia services to Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Chingford: ‘Improving these services will take some of the pressure off the Tube system. All London’s suburban lines should be brought up to metro style running with high frequencies’, he said.