Railway workers lobby Westminster over rail cuts

RMT is today (Wednesday 28 February) holding a 'Rail Cuts Cost Lives' rally and lobby MPs at Westminster.

The rally will bring together railway workers to pressure the Government to ensure the railway has the funding it needs to run safely and effectively.

Network Rail intends to make £1.2bn worth of cuts over the next five years to renewals expenditure which will have a negative effect on safety and performance.

The government also intends to:

• abolish the Track Renewal Service (TRS) organisation within Network Rail supply chain cutting 500 highly skilled jobs and outsourcing operations to private infrastructure companies
• cut maintenance work on track, signalling and other assets at a time of increased degradation of railway infrastructure exacerbated by extreme weather events
• reduce railway renewals and an increased reliance on railway maintenance which will lead to an increase in safety risks and a reduction in performance.

RMT claims a recent survey of Network Rail maintenance members revealed a vast majority believe that there is an increased risk of a major rail safety incident occurring on the railway within the next two years due to broken rails and ageing infrastructure.

Mick Lynch (pictured), RMT general secretary, said: "Our rally and lobby of Parliament marks the next phase of our campaign to prevent harmful cuts to our railway infrastructure.

"These cuts if they go ahead will make the railways less safe and further impact on the performance of the network.

"Cracked rails are being reported alongside extreme weather events which have led to disasters like Carmont in 2020.

"It is vital we maintain the pressure on the government to deliver the right funding package for our railway infrastructure and politicians have a duty to their constituents to add their voices to our campaign."