It's political more than technical. Automating the trains means eliminating the driver's job, and the Transit Worker's Union is opposed to the elimination of those positions.
Progress should be made. Having machines do jobs we don't need humans to do will always be better for everyone in the long run, and it is better if we do it sooner rather than later.
It doesn't help, because it doesn't work, once it's at the scale where people will assemble to fight against it, it's too late, you cannot prevent progress.
However I would point out that the original Luddites, who were middle class, mostly died in abject poverty.
We should not prevent automation, but at the same we should not just brush aside the plight of the displaced workers. New jobs will be created, but probably not for them.
This person is a conductor though. They sit in a cab in the middle of the train and operate the doors.