BOGUS BILLIONS FOR RAIL

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2017 :: RMTnews 11 Rail industry bosses club the Rail Delivery Group has been pumping out more bogus propaganda claiming that private train operating companies are investing in the country when, in fact, they are robbing hundreds of millions of pounds to invest in domestic transport operations in other parts of Europe. A new flimsy Rail Delivery Group plan, called ‘In Partnership for Britain’s Prosperity’, claims that railway will secure almost £85 billion of additional economic benefits for the country. The report also claims six times that the private sector is investing £11.5 billion in the desperate hope that someone will believe them. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the much-hyped Rail Delivery Group’s plans for Britain’s railways did not stand up to scrutiny and were exposed as yet another fraud imposed on the British travelling public by a racketeering rail industry that is out of control. “There is not a penny piece of new money in any of this and the cash that is being talked up is British taxpayer and fare-payer money that has already been announced and spun up on numerous occasions in the past. “It is scandalous double- accounting on an epic scale which leaves the foreign companies that own the vast bulk of Britain’s railways free to carry on fleecing passengers in the UK in order to invest in services in Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam. “That racket should be called to a halt and there should also be some thorough scrutiny of the fare payer and tax payer money that is being used to finance this pro-government propaganda through the Tory Party cheerleaders in the self- styled Rail Delivery Group. “It is sickening to hear industry bosses on the media talking up the role of staff in delivering rail services, the very same safety-critical staff that Rail Delivery Group members are determined to throw off our trains. "RMT will continue to fight for a genuine single and publicly owned railway as part of a fully integrated transport policy that puts the needs of the people, our communities and our economy before those of the profiteers,” he said. Network Rail is expected to spend £47.9 billion, including a government grant of £34.7 billion according to the Statement of Funds Available (SoFA) for 2019 to 2024, known as Control Period 6 (CP6). In general, the funding is to cover the operation, maintenance and renewals of the railway with little provision for enhancements as new enhancements in CP6 will be funded separately and possibly differently as suggested by the Hanford Review. There are two important factors to note regarding the additional funding. Firstly, an increase in funding is rare. There were cuts of 27 per cent in CP3 (2004- 2009), a further 20 per cent in CP4 (2009-2014) and around another 20 per cent in CP5 (2014-2019). These cuts, coupled with the inefficiencies which outsourcing brings to the industry, have led to the current renewals crisis. When the SoFA is compared against the equivalent figures for CP5, it shows an increase of around 20 per cent in Network Rail’s expenditure which when compared to the cuts endured over the previous three control periods hardly amounts to an investment. Secondly where is the money going? In the last financial year almost £3.7 billion was sucked out of Network Rail by its “top 20 suppliers” – predominately labour suppliers. Any additional funding should be considered in that context - if the leakages occur at the current rates some £18.5 billion will be returned to the construction oligarchs over the five years of Control Period 6. That is almost 40 per cent of total expenditure on the top 20 suppliers alone. It is no surprise that the SoFA was “applauded” by the Railway Industry Association. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that while extra funding to Network Rail was welcome it must be linked to key issues including, as a top priority, a commitment to stamp out the negative employment practices which have been nurtured on the railways by the private construction sector. “The Office of Rail and Road has in the past described these practices as being “not conducive to a safe railway”. "The public sector Network Rail must move away from the short term avarice of the private sector, and the government cheerleaders in the bosses club the Rail Delivery Group, through ending the rip off of subcontracting and investing in the skills base instead shoring up private shareholders dividends,” he said. The union is continuing to campaign against the deferral of £3.7 billion of renewals to CP6, and has highlighted that bringing forward monies which were already deferred to CP6 are not new or additional funds. In fact, as noted by the respected Rail Business Intelligence journal, there is “a parallel with the Periodic Review 2000 when funding was brought forward to ease financial pressures on Railtrack”. The union has repeatedly raised its concerns that despite the plethora of reviews no analysis of the consequences of outsourcing renewals work or the benefits of returning the work in-house has been undertaken despite the obvious comparison with the saving of £400 million a year through unifying and bringing maintenance in-house. RMT will be campaigning throughout PR18 for the government to undertake such a review and take measures to end the casualisation of the safety critical rail infrastructure workforce. Transport Scotland did not receive the details of the settlement until the evening of October 12, and believe that changes brought about by the UK government from 2019 could result in a real terms cut to Scotland’s rail funds. The Scottish government was made aware of these changes the day before the original publication date for the HLOS and SoFA and now estimate that it could leave a £600 million shortfall based on what was prescribed in their detailed HLOS. In December Network Rail will produce its Strategic Business Plans (SBPs) setting out what it proposes to deliver in CP6 and how much it will cost. This will be the first opportunity to see real detail regarding proposals, in particular proposed efficiencies. CP5 CP6 Total Expenditure 38.3 47.9 Incl. Network Grant 19.6 34.7 BOGUS BILLIONS FOR RAIL RMT exposes double accounting in bosses ‘rail plan’