Subway workers have raised their voices against what they consider an unsustainable situation. According to unions, current staffing levels are clearly insufficient to cover peak demand and maintain adequate frequencies. This shortage, they warn, not only affects passenger comfort but also compromises safety and basic maintenance of facilities. Management, for its part, assures that adjustments are being made.
Control systems and their limits in the face of staff shortages 🚇
Signaling and automatic driving systems have improved line capacity, but their effectiveness depends on constant human supervision. Each train requires maintenance staff and ground operators to resolve incidents. With reduced staffing, response times to breakdowns lengthen and the frequency of preventive inspections decreases. Technology cannot replace the need for more technicians and drivers to ensure system reliability.
The magic solution: a driver who teleports the train 🚀
Management seems to have found the perfect formula: make each worker do the work of three. Meanwhile, passengers wait on the platform as if in a forced zen meditation. The idea that a driver can be in two places at once is as realistic as a train's punctuality with a skeleton crew. If they keep this up, soon they'll ask passengers to push the cars to help with traction.