Rail funding cutbacks could increase risk of serious crashes, warn unions

RAIL funding cuts will increase the risk of serious train crashes, trade unions have claimed.

A report by the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) stated that

Network Rail plans to slash its annual expenditure by £100 million, through the loss of 2,500 maintenance jobs.

The union organisation believes it is “impossible” to make such cuts without losing “safety-critical jobs”.

It also warned that timetables will be reduced as the Treasury has ordered the Department for Transport (DFT) to bring down its annual budget by 10 per cent.

The TUC’S report said: “These cuts threaten essential services and maintenance, and increase the risk of the types of accidents that marked the first decades of privatised rail.”

Britain’s railways were hit by a series of deadly crashes in the years after train operation was privatised in the mid-1990s.

These included accidents at Southall, west London in September 1997; Ladbroke Grove, west London in October 1999; Hatfield, Hertfordshire in October 2000; and Potters Bar, Hertfordshire in May 2002.

TUC general secretary Frances O’grady said: “We all want good transport links for our community, with safe, reliable and affordable trains.

“But if the Network Rail cuts go ahead it will mean the loss of safetycritical jobs and a greater risk of serious accidents like Stonehaven, Potters Bar and Hatfield.”

On the potential for cuts in services, Ms O’grady said: “Our railways are still recovering after the pandemic. The last thing the Government should be doing is slashing funding.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union are being balloted for strikes over jobs, pay and working conditions, while the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association is also threatening action.

The RMT claims a yes vote could lead to the biggest rail strike in modern history.