SYDNEY Trains has defended its decision to axe night security guards at Hurstville and Miranda railway stations.
The guards, who worked for a private contractor, were removed from 11 major Sydney network stations at the end of August.
The Rail Tram and Bus Union expressed concern the move could put passengers and staff at risk.
But Sydney Trains said the guard numbers were "outdated" and had not changed in a decade, despite a major shake-up of rail security.
A Sydney Trains spokeswoman said the NSW Police Transport Command took charge of customer security and crime prevention on trains in May 2012.
"Sydney Trains contracts a small number of security guards to protect our trains and equipment," she said. "These security guards are only required to report incidents and are not trained to intervene if a crime is occurring."
The spokeswoman said security guard numbers did not reflect the network's present needs, which had changed for several reasons, including the strong presence of the Police Transport Command and monitoring by more than 10,000 CCTV cameras.
"We've looked closely at where Sydney Trains now needs security guards and have made changes to bring our numbers in line with today's network," the spokeswoman said.
POLICE ACTION
The Police Transport Command has 610 officers.
Since taking control of rail security in May 2012, officers have made close to 9000 arrests and laid about 17,000 charges.
More than 182,000 infringement notices have been issued.
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