Jipperty,
Just one example out of many I could have chosen..
Let us assume there is no cabin crew on trains or on planes. Now, you have a fire onboard, be it a smoker setting fire to the toilet, an electrical fire behind the panels, choose anything you like.
What do you, as a passenger, with no crew on board, do? On the train, I would assume you and your fellow travellers will all evacuate that particular carriage, by moving up to the next one and close the (fireproof) door safely behind you. (Someone might try to use an extinguisher, but, untrained, will most likely make a mess of it) Then you will contact the driver, who will probably stop the train and you can all evacuate, its a few feet drop and you should have ample time.
What do you do on a plane, then? You have only that small (relative to the train) cabin, so you cant go anywhere. You will all be breathing in smoke within minutes. Then you try to contact the "driver!, and let's assume you are able to by the same means as on trains. He/she decides to land the plane. Now, how long is that going to take? More than a few minutes, I assure you. In the meantime, you are on your own, smoke and fire killing most of the passengers. You try to put out the fire...where are the xtinguishers? How many are there? how do they work? Do you know the difference between a bcf and a regular water extinguisher? Did you know you must wear smokehood when using bcf, as it emits toxic fumes? where is a smkehood then? How do you put it on? How long does it provide oxygen for? You need protective gloves, too, the bcf gets very cold when used, your fingers will freeze to it. Now, where are the protective gloves? Shoot, there is one here, but its soaking wet, can't use it, wish someone had checked it was servicable before the flight! I can say good bye to my fingers now! If the fire is behind panels, you need somethiing to remove panels with. Hang on, nothing that you could use is allowed onboard, in case terrorists might use it. No trouble, there is a crash axe in the cockpit, but how do I get it? The captain is not going to open the door for me, Im only a passenger and I might be a terrorist, so I can't get to the axe. In the meantime, captain needs more information about developments in the cabin. Are you trained how to relay this information to them accurately?
Now, let us assume the plane finally lands and you are still alive. The cabin is filled of smoke and toxic fumes, and you try to evacuate, but cannot find the exit. If/when you finally do, you open the door, but the slide doesnt blow. That door is many meters up above the ground. If you jump,, you will best case break your legs, worst case your neck. Do you know what to do to inflate the slide? Do you have time to go back and read your safety card? Are you trained how to get people moving towards the exit, you want to help them save themselves, dont you? What if other passengers in their panic try to use that door without theslide? What if they, in their panic, push you out of that door?
Isn't it just easier to have cabin crew onboard that is trained to deal with that fire in teh first place? Or one that stops the idiot setting fire to the loo in the first place?
And there are many more scenarios like this. Answers to all the questions above, and to hudreds of questions more, most you didn't even think existed (!), can be found out from the cabin crew. Because we know the answers to all those questions, and more! That is why we train for weeks, to be able to confidently handle situations you didn't even imagine could happen. We are also the eyes and ears of the pilots.We ars not only there to deal with emergencies when they occur, we are also part of the team that ensures incidents don't happen in the first place!
So yes, planes are less safe than trains in this respect. On the other hand, planes are probably SAFER than trains, exactly BECAUSE cabin crew, and others, are employed to MAKE THEM SAFE IN THE FIRST PLACE!
Happy flying!
B