RMT SLAMS EUROSTAR SELL OFF

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2015 :: RMTnews 6 The release of profitable results for Eurostar has sparked new calls for the Tories to abandon plans to sell off the state asset. Profits at the cross-channel rail firm rose two per cent to £55 million last year with sales up one per cent to £867 million. Passenger numbers also increased three per cent to 10.4 million as the business celebrated its 20th anniversary and unveiled its new state-of- the-art e320 trains schedule to enter service at the end of the year. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the news that Eurostar had broken through the 10 million passenger barrier made a mockery of government plans to try and railroad through the sale before the May election. "The Eurostar sell-off plan is a gross act of betrayal of the British people by a right wing government hell bent on selling off the family silver regardless of the real cost. “This also compounds the issue of foreign ownership of Britain's railways as the French state have first refusal on our slice of the highly profitable Eurostar cake. “The French and Belgians think we are insane knocking off such a valuable and strategic infrastructure asset. “The Eurostar sell off is just a short sighted act of industrial vandalism based on a bankrupt pro-privatisation ideology,” he said. The UK owns 40 per cent of Eurostar while the French state owns 55 per cent through its rail firm SNCF and its Belgian counterpart SNCB has the remaining five per cent. Eurostar reports continuing growth in passenger numbers and sales revenues in 2014 with a new Lyon-South of France service proving popular with customers. This performance was underpinned by an increase in business travel bookings throughout the year. In 2014 the number of Eurostar business travellers increased by four per cent compared with 2013. Following the company’s decision in November to purchase seven additional e320s to meet growing demand and provide services to new destinations, the reported operating profit for 2014 reflects additional non-cash charges against the value of the existing fleet. In total, Eurostar is investing over £1 billion in its fleet and its service and will be introducing 17 new trains over the next three years. To meet the growing demand for high speed rail services beyond its traditional destinations, on May 1 this year, Eurostar is launching a new all year-round direct service to the South of France stopping in Lyon, Avignon and Marseille. However Tory Chancellor George Osborne wants to sell the UK stake for around just £300 million. Tories desperate to sell profitable state asset before the next election RMT SLAMS EUROSTAR SELL OFF