HANDS OFF NETWORK RAIL!

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january 2016 :: RMTnews Privatising Network Rail would increase fares and put passenger safety at risk, warns new a report. The report – Staying On The Right Track by Dr John Stittle also warns of a “disastrous” return to the days of Railtrack if Network Rail becomes a for-profit company. The report was commissioned by the TUC and rail unions’ Action for Rail Campaign in response to the government consultation being undertaken by Nicola Shaw into the future shape and financing of Network Rail. The report outlines the following key arguments against re-privatising Network Rail. • Passenger safety – The report warns that privatising Network Rail could lead to a decline in safety standards. The report notes that under Network’s Rail’s privatised predecessor Railtrack there were far more workplace accidents, broken rails and trains ignoring emergency signals. The report says that if Network Rail is devolved or sold off to companies this could threaten the substantial improvements in passenger safety made since Railtrack’s collapse. • Higher fares – The report warns that if Network Rail is privatised, money that should be spent on improving the UK’s rail infrastructure will end up going to shareholders. Railtrack, even when posting big losses, still paid out huge dividends. Were privatisation to happen, the cost of future improvements would have to be passed on to taxpayers or funded by higher fares. • Projects running over budget – The report highlights Railtrack’s poor record of delivering important infrastructure projects on budget. For example, the cost of up-grading the West Coast Main Line cost skyrocketed from £2.5 billion to £14.5 billion under Railtrack’s management. With major upgrades planned, such as the electrification of the TransPennine and Midland Mainline routes, handing control back to the private sector would pose a huge risk to the taxpayer. • Debt – If Network Rail’s debt is no longer underwritten by the state, potential equity investors will almost certainly hesitate to invest. And without government guarantees, the annual interest cost of Network Rail’s debt could become unsustainable. • Fragmentation - The fundamental challenge faced by UK rail is that it is too fragmented with competing interests pursuing short term commercial gains. Privatising Network Rail would only make this problem worse. The Shaw review should therefore give more priority to the benefits of a vertically integrated railway in public ownership supported by more longer- term and sustainable funding, Dr John Stittle, a senior lecturer at the University of Essex, said that it was essential that the Shaw Commission did not support any form of privatisation for Network Rail. Railway privatisation has been a clear and costly failure for both passengers and tax payers. “The country cannot afford to have Network Rail privatised either wholly or partially. The industry must not be returned to the disastrous era of Railtrack where shareholder returns were placed above safety and investment.” TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said that the report provided a very compelling case for keeping Network Rail as a public body. “Taxpayers and the travelling public deserve a modern, sustainable approach to upgrading our railways. Not a repeat of past failures. “Resurrecting the ghost of Railtrack could lead to a worryingly decline in safety standards and higher fares. “More fragmentation and commercialisation would be the worst of both worlds,” she said. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that there were siren voices on the right who want to carve up and privatise Network Rail and drag us back to the lethal days of Railtrack and the disasters at Hatfield and Potters Bar. “Those wreckers must be fought all the way. “If the profits bled out of our railways by the greedy private train companies were reclaimed and re-invested through a publicly-owned operation, with Network Rail at its heart, we would have a chance of building a reliable and affordable rail service fit for the modern age,” he said. HANDS OFF NETWORK RAIL! 9 The findings come as rail campaigners and workers plan to hold protests at over 60 stations around the country against fare rises and in support of public ownership. The government point to regulated rail fare rises being capped at the rate of inflation. But Action for Rail says the public will pay for this cap through taxes amounting to £700 million over the next five years. Research shows that more than double this ¬£1.5billion ¬ could be saved over the same period if the rail franchises up for renewal were returned to the public sector. Researchers at Transport for Quality of Life have estimated that this could fund a 10 per cent reduction in season tickets and other regulated fares from 2017. Rail campaigners, passengers and rail unions held protests across the country handing out mock tickets to passengers, which highlight the high costs of fares and privatisation and called for public ownership of the railways. TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said that was hardly surprising that passengers thought rail travel was bad value for money. “They are shelling out far more of their income on rail fares than their counterparts in Europe. “Years of failed privatisation have left us with exorbitant ticket prices, overcrowded trains and ageing infrastructure. It would be nice if ministers woke-up to this reality instead of allowing train companies to milk the system at taxpayers’ and commuters’ expense.” RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said that the British public had awoken to another kick in the teeth from the greedy private train companies. “We would urge everyone to join with the trade unions to end the money making racket on our rail tracks in 2016,” he said.