REPRIEVE FOR NORTHERN RAIL

www.rmt.org.uk :: april 2006 :: RMTnews 5 Following a huge campaign, RMT welcomes the announcement that the government’s review of rail services in the north of England will not result in service cuts or job losses Since the review was announced, RMT has waged a consistent campaign to defend Northern Rail services and to win support for a growing role for rail in the region. And, after thousands of RMT postcards were sent to MPs and ministers, public opinion appears to have prevailed as no cuts are to be made to services. Local RMT activists forcefully put the case that the north of England needs more rail capacity, not less, and there could no room for the chipping away at services to the point that no-one could use them any more and then killing them off altogether. RMT rep Craig Johnston said it was a pity that over £500,000 was spent on a review when capacity had increased by more than 10 million passenger miles last year. “If anything wants cutting, it is the shameful amount of money that continues to be drained out of the railway industry by the private sector. “It would have been nothing short of criminal to have wielded the axe on services while the privateers are still shovelling record amounts of public subsidy into their shareholders’ bank accounts,” he said. Local rep Mike Thompson pointed out that revenue growth had also increased by over 13 per cent and punctuality had grown to 89 per cent. “Without the support of local RMT members this campaign to defend services could not have been mounted,” he said. When the Strategic Rail Authority brought in the consultants last year its intention was clearly to justify axing services, closing stations and lines, raising fares and cutting jobs. The shadow of the review has remained hanging over huge swathes of northern England that have already had enough of unnecessary rail cuts. “Rail workers and train users alike will breathe a sigh of relief that the shadow of the axe has been lifted from vital rail services and jobs in the north of England,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said. The union had consistently argued that the environment and the local economy were crying out for a strategy that puts a massive expansion of rail at the centre of efforts to get even more people out of their cars and onto public transport. That included a critical role for every part of the network, including rural rail. RMT welcomes reprieve for Northern Rail services VICTORY: Local reps Craig Johnson and Mike Thompson with Bob Crow