IS IT SAFE?

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january/february 2024 :: RMTnews 16 Over 90 per cent of Network Rail RMT members think that a major railway incident is likely to happen in the next two years because of spending cuts, an RMT survey has revealed. Network Rail plans to cut £1.2 billion of its budget between 2024 and 2029, raising fears of accidents and serious safety-related incidents on the railway. These cuts include abandoning track renewals for at least the next five years and the permanent loss of highly specialised, skilled jobs and equipment while reports of broken rails on aging infrastructure increases. In a damning indictment of these changes, 96 per cent of Network Rail workers say that the cuts in the next five years will worsen railway safety, with 77 per cent of members saying it will ‘substantially worsen rail safety’. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that the shocking survey results revealed the real fears of members on the front line, as the reality of rail funding cuts becomes clear. “These cuts mean Network Rail will not renew a single mile of track for the next 5-8 years and the permanent loss of specialist workforce and equipment currently delivering 70 per cent of Britain’s Track Renewals. "Instead, passengers will experience a planned and deliberate reduction of railway service as reliance on speed restrictions becomes the norm to mitigate the increased safety risk posed by decrepit rail tracks. We are witnessing the managed decline of a national asset. “They must reverse these extremely damaging cuts and move to a genuine public ownership model which sees increased investment year on year and safety as the number one priority,” he said. RMT has written to Network Rail, Westminster and Scottish governments as well as the Department of Transport over these deep concerns. Rail workers are already reporting an increasing number of broken rails, de- wirements and recent high- profile faults which affected The Elizabeth Line and Eurostar services have highlighted the state of ageing infrastructure, yet Network Rail‘s latest spending plan means deep spending cuts. The union has already warned that the litany of major rail crashes including the deadly derailment at Carmont last year caused by poor infrastructure maintenance were testament to what can happen through lack of investment and continual cost- cutting. CUTS The Office of Rail and Road’s Final Determination shows that Network Rail’s Control Period 7 (CP7) expenditure will be approximately £43.065 billion in the five-year control period starting from April 1, 2024 and ending on March 31, 2029 (CP7). This is a one per cent cut on total CP6 funding of £43.470 billion. This also equates to a £1.7 billion cut in the original £44.8 Billion Statement of Funds Available (SOFA) included in ORR’s Draft Determination which ORR explain is “primarily because of higher than anticipated inflation”. Total renewals expenditure for CP7 is £17.5 billion which is £1.2 billion or six per cent lower than in CP6 of £18.7 billion. As a result, Core Renewals expenditure, covering track, off-track, signalling, level crossings, earthworks, drainage, buildings, electrification and fixed plant, and telecommunications, is being significantly cut. In CP7 it is projected to be £15 billion which is 10 per cent less than in CP6. The proposed cuts to renewals mean that there will be a greater reliability in maintenance but the fact that Network Rail, under huge financial pressure from the government, is now imposing its Modernising Maintenance Programme which will slash Maintenance Scheduled Tasks (MSTs) by 50 per cent with the sole intention of reducing headcount and overhead costs. The reductions in MSTs is completely incompatible with the cuts to renewals budgets. Network Rail is also winding up their Track Renewals Services completely with the threat of up to 500 redundancies which the union has said would be an ‘act of industrial vandalism’. Not undertaking track renewals over the next five years would leave rail infrastructure dilapidated and permanently remove the capacity to undertake renewals in-house. The combined crises of record high inflation, ageing infrastructure and climate change will have a devastating impact on the railway network but the strategic business plan for CP7 simply seem to wilfully ignore these crises and instead kick the can down the road. The union believes that proposals to reduce renewal IS IT SAFE? Union raises safety concerns over broken rails, job losses and spending cuts