Of course they have a point !
Recently I got locked in the toilet on the Intercity up to Town. It was the guard that came and rescued me. If I had pulled the communication cord, the train would have screeched to a halt in the middle of nowhere, and the Driver would have had to climb down from the cab and walk back to assist me.
On another journey earlier this year, there was an outbreak of violence for a handful of drunk youths, which the female Guard dealt with very ably indeed ?
Is it really tenable that one person, ie the Driver, should be responsible for the care of 100's, maybe 1000's of passengers on his own ?
When you take into account the huge sums payable by commuters on this busy region, surely the salary paid to a guard must be worth it ?