RMT's ten-point plan for the next ten years would yield more than £10 billion in savings and revenues that would allow the government to expand the railways, put staff back on stations and introduce a fairer fares policy. RMT says that:

1. an immediate windfall tax on the excess profits of rolling-stock companies,

2. taking train operating companies, train renewals, Network Rail and the rolling-stock companies back into public ownership, and

3. bringing forward legislation to end the London Underground PPP

would release funds totalling £10.56 billion over the next ten years. This could be reinvested in our public transport network to:

4. provide half of the funding for and thereby allow work to begin on Crossrail.

5. save 56 community rail lines around the country which are currently under threat,

6. fully staff 1,000 stations that currently have no staff so that nearly every station on the network would be staffed, and

7. cover the cost of the East London Line extensions allowing already agreed funding to be released for other transport projects.

8. Businesses are one of the main beneficiaries of public transport but make little or no financial contribution. We propose a transport tax on business to ensure they pay their fair share. The money raised would:

9. help fund a fairer fares policy, including a national rail card and

10. help fund new rail infrastructure including adequate rail capacity to the government?s plans for sustainable communities in the Thames gateway, Milton Keynes-South Midlands, Ashford and London-Stansted-Cambridge.

"Britain?s rail policy is facing in the wrong direction, yet the silence on transport during this election from the leaders of the three main parties has been deafening," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"That is why we are launching this manifesto today.

"Privatisation means that huge resources are being taken out of the railway industry and that rail is in a downward spiral of service cuts, job losses and ludicrously expensive fares.

"Our proposals would not only reverse that decline but would begin creating the modern, efficient, attractive, cheap to use and environmentally friendly rail network that Britain is crying out for.

"The billions saved by bringing rail back into the public sector and ending the disastrous PPP on London Underground would bring us a huge rail rebate that would help bring Britain?s railways into the 21st century.

"Asking businesses to pay their share towards the transport projects they benefit from is already the norm in great cities like Paris and New York ? and the whole economy would benefit in the long run.

"We will be welcoming our 25 Rail Against Privatisation marchers into London on Saturday, two weeks after they left Glasgow.

"The message they have received, loud and clear, all along the way, is that Britain wants a publicly owned railway.

"It is what rail users want, it is what the unions want and it is what the Labour Party overwhelmingly voted for.

"It is about time that choice was put before the British people," Bob Crow said.

ends

For further information contact Derek Kotz on 020 7529 8803 or 07939 595 092

Attached
Table 1: Estimated savings from public ownership of the railways, ending the PPP
Table 2: Cost of public transport projects
Table 3. Community Rail Lines which could be funded by public ownership
Note on Transport tax on business
Notes to editors

Table 1: Estimated savings from public ownership of the railways, ending the PPP

Public Ownership of Railways..........Savings Per Annum (£millions)..........Savings Over Ten years (£millions)
Windfall Tax on the Roscos (one off) (1).................................200 (one off)..........200 (one off)
Taking train companies back into public ownership (2).............200........................2000
Bringing rail renewals under control of Network Rail (3)............400........................4000
Taking Network Rail and Rolling Stock Companies to public sector (4)...300............3000
Scrapping London underground PPP
Reinvesting PPP Profits (5)......................................................91........................910
Cheaper Debt Repayments (6)..............................................450 (one off)............450 (one off)
Total Savings.......................................................................£10, 560..............(£10.56bn)

Sources
(1), (2), (3), (4) Research for Catalyst by Professor Jean Shoal, Manchester University
(5), Metronet and Tube Lines
(6), Public Accounts Committee Report into London Underground PPP

Table 2: Cost of public transport projects

Transport Project..................Estimated 10 Year Cost
Cross Rail (1)...........................£5bn (50% of total cost)
East London Line Extension (2)...£0.9bn
Branch Rail Lines (3).................£3bn
Restaff 1000 stations (4)............£1bn
Total.........................................£9.9bn

Sources
(1), Department for Transport
(2) Transport for London
(3) Strategic Rail Authority estimates costs of funding community rail lines at £300m per annum. Lines affected are attached.
(4) Strategic Rail Authority state that 1175 (47%) of stations are currently unstaffed. The £1bn figure is calculated on the basis of restaffing 1,000 stations over ten years. Four staff per station, on an individual paybill cost of £25,000 (four x 25,000 =100,000). Then x number of stations (1,000 x 100,000 = £100,000,000), times ten years (£100,000, 000 x 10 = £1bn).

Table 3: List of proposed Community Rail routes by region
(Junctions that are not passenger stations are shown in italics)

South West:
St Erth to St Ives;
Penwithers Junction to Falmouth;
Par to Newquay;
Liskeard to Looe;
St Budeaux Junction to Gunnislake;
Cowley Bridge Junction to Barnstaple;
Narroways Hill Junction to Severn Beach;
Castle Cary to Yeovil Junction/ Dorchester Junction

South East:
Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin;
Brockenhurst to Lymington;
Twyford to Henley-on-Thames;
Maidenhead to Marlow;
Slough to Windsor;
Oxford North Junction to Bicester Town;
Eastern Junction to Sheerness;
Paddock Wood to Strood;
Hurst Green Junction to Uckfield

North West:
Mickle Trafford Junction to Edgeley Junction;
Chester to Acton Grange Junction;
Helsby to Ellesmere Port;
Hazel Grove to Buxton;
Bolton to Blackburn;
Farrington Curve Junction to Ormskirk;
Wigan Wallgate to Southport;
Wigan Wallgate to Kirkby;
Blackpool South to Kirkham and Gannow Junction to Colne;
Hest Bank South Junction to Heysham;
Daisyfield Junction to Hellifield;
Barrow to Carlisle;
Oxenholme to Windermere

Eastern England:
Marks Tey to Sudbury;
Wickford to Southminster;
Whitlingham Junction to Sheringham;
Brundall to Lowestoft;
Reedham to Breydon Junction;
Westerfield to Oulton Broad North Junction;
Bedford to Bletchley;
Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey

Yorkshire and Humberside:
Guisborough Junction to Whitby;
Barnsley to Huddersfield;
Ulceby to Barton on Humber;
Springbank North Junction to Seamer;
Hensall Junction to Potters Grange Junction;
Settle Junction to Carnforth

Wales:
Llynvi Junction to Maesteg;
Dovey Junction to Pwllheli;
Craven Arms to Morlais Junction;
Wrexham Central to Bidston;
Shrewsbury to Saltney Junction;
Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog

West Midlands:
Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town;
Coventry to Nuneaton;
Stoke on Trent to North Stafford Junction

East Midlands:
Ambergate Junction to Matlock;
Allington Junction to Skegness

North East
Darlington to Bishop Auckland;
Guisborough Junction to Whitby

-- Notes to editors --

Transport tax on business: In cities such as Paris and New York, sophisticated arrangements exist for spreading the burden of costs between passengers and beneficiaries of the system, including business. This has allowed these cities to raise billions to fund transport projects and subsidise fares. Furthermore property and land values have often soared where light-rail and metro systems have been introduced. RMT believes that local authorities and government should be given powers to raise money for transport projects from companies and institutions that have benefited economically from an expansion in the local transport infrastructure. This would enable new investment in transport infrastructure including the government?s new sustainable communities and help introduce a fairer fares policy.

The failure of privatisation: In 1993-94 before privatisation over 90 per cent of trains on the publicly owned national network ran to time. In the year to 31 December 2004 the privately owned railway could only deliver 82.8 per cent on time.

£4.5bn in public subsidy now paid to the railway is more than three times the public subsidy paid to British Rail.

A recent report by the Independent think tank Catalyst calculated £800m a year is taken out of the industry as returns to private lenders and investors ? a total leakage of more than £6bn since 1996.

The benefits of public ownership: According to Catalyst small transitional costs of taking the railways back into public ownership would subsequently reap huge savings for the taxpayer.

Savings would be accrued from reduced bureaucracy and an end to leakages to private providers of finance.

On a conservative estimate overall immediate cash savings of taking Network Rail, TOCs and Roscos in public ownership would be £500m a year. In addition on a conservative estimate taking renewals back in house would save £400m per annum.

So public ownership would deliver total savings of £900m a year of or £4.5bn over the lifetime of a Labour Government.

Catalyst also argue that private sector investment would not be threatened as all private sector investment is ultimately paid from by tax payers and fare payers.

Consequences of continuing with privatisation: Catalyst warn "without direct public control over costs, money spent in support of the rail industry will prove unsustainable, creating pressure to shift the burden to passengers through fare rises and cuts to services."

Indeed the Railways Act passed by Parliament recently will make it easier to reduce the size of the network raising concerns over line closures, service reductions and job losses. The SRA?s Community Rail Development Strategy could result in further cuts to our rural and branch lines.

Closing lines and services will further prevent the government from reaching its domestic emissions targets. In addition the Royal Academy of Engineering has recently estimated road congestion costs the UK £15 billion a year.