BBC News: 30 November 2005

The terrorist threat to public transport in the UK "remains grave" in the wake of the 7 July bombings in London, MPs have warned. Tube train radios were in a 'poor state', MPs found.

The Commons Transport Committee said there could still be "inadequacies" in systems for "detecting potentially dangerous packages" on the underground.

The airline Virgin Atlantic had also complained of "deficiencies" in government security co-ordination.

The committee said there should be "no compromise" on preventing attacks.

'Relative failure'

MPs said they had found "disquieting evidence" from the transport industry, such as the "poor state" of train radios on the London Underground.

From next year, the government will test X-ray screening and body scanners at platforms for Heathrow Express trains.

The report says this is "welcome", adding: "We hope that these are the first of many protective security innovations designed to place those who would kill without compunction firmly on the defensive."

The four suicide bombings on 7 July - on three London Underground trains and one London bus - which killed 52 people, had represented a "relative failure" of arrangements.

Committee chairman Gwyneth Dunwoody said, in the committee's preliminary report into UK Transport Security, "real leadership" was needed.

'Highly vulnerable'

She added: "It is unlikely that any workable protective security system for transport networks can be completely effective at all times."

"Transport systems are highly vulnerable to terrorist attack.

"The London Underground and bus bombings of 7 July were a savage reminder of current terrorist dangers. The deadly threat remains current."

The committee called for measures which "provide public reassurance while representing value for money".

It criticised the Transport Security and Contingencies Directorate (Transec), with its staff of 200 and annual budget of £16.8m, for publishing "no performance measures" in its annual report.

It should "not be beyond the [Transport] Department's capacity" to devise guidelines, the report says.

Media coverage

It also quotes British Airways as saying there is "over-regulation" of security in the UK, compared with that in the US and other parts of Europe.

The report demands a test of the home secretary's "positive view" of government co-ordination of efforts.

It cautions against "sensationalist" media reporting of terrorism which "stimulates fear without adding value to the debate".

But it says Transec is being "simplistic" in asking journalists to "desist from reporting flaws in protective security when these are uncovered".

The report adds: "We expect the relevant authorities to deal swiftly and effectively with security weaknesses, and with those who would exploit them."

The committee held a hearing into the issue and received written evidence from transport providers and organisations in November and October. It will hold a full inquiry into travel security next year.

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Reuters: Nov 30, 2005
By Karin Strohecker

BERLIN - With a confident smile on his face and a spring in his step, German rail chief Hartmut Mehdorn walks through the buzzing Berlin building site where Europe's largest railway station is going up.

After more than 10 years of work, the round-the-clock project is on budget and on time, Mehdorn said, to open at the end of May, two weeks before the start of the soccer World Cup that will bring more than a million extra visitors to Germany.

"The light at the end of the tunnel is definitely getting brighter," said the chief executive of rail operator Deutsche Bahn during a viewing tour of one of the German capital's biggest construction sites.

"A load will drop off our minds when that station is finally finished," he said, raising his voice to be heard above the pounding of hammers and the whine of metal cutters.

Loved by some, loathed by others, the former Lehrter Bahnhof station is nearing the end of its estimated 700 million euro (480 million pound) transformation from a World War Two ruin to one of Europe's key rail hubs.

The massive station, near the chancellery building and within sight of the Reichstag parliament's glass cupola, has become a sightseeing stop for both visitors and Berliners.

But its fame is tinged with notoriety partly because of public complaints about the location and partly because of a dispute between Deutsche Bahn and the architect, who says the rail operator mutilated his design by changing the ceiling.

The station's strategic importance is not in doubt: with the World Cup looming, it will play a crucial role in getting teams, equipment and media from game to game across the country.

It is believed to be Berlin's most expensive building site by yearly investment and the biggest European rail intersection for east-west and north-south trains.

"Berlin can really be proud of this station," said Mehdorn. "This will be the envy of many cities."

"TORSO"

Deutsche Bahn expects some 300,000 people to use the station every day, with 1,500 local, national and international trains scheduled to depart daily.

The building was designed by Meinhard von Gerkan, one of Germany's most famous architects who, with his partners, also designed the roof on Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

The relationship between Gerkan and Deutsche Bahn started to sour after the rail operator decided some years ago to cut the outside roof spanning the east-west tracks by a quarter to 320 metres (1,050 feet) to reduce building time.

Gerkan said this reduced the station to a "torso."

But the builder's decision to change the ceiling in the 450 metre-long (1,476 feet) and 60 metre-wide (197 feet) underground hall, where north-south trains will stop, really angered him.

Gerkan accused Deutsche Bahn of harming his architectural copyright by changing the ceiling, which had been designed to arch and undulate cathedral-like over platforms and tracks.

"This is probably the biggest underground hall worldwide and it looks like a supermarket ... run-of-the-mill," said Gerkan, after Deutsche Bahn installed a flat, grey metal ceiling.

"This is just pure disfigurement. I cannot believe that a builder would mutilate his own project," the architect said.

A court now has to decide if the ceiling should be changed back to the original design. It is not known when that ruling might be delivered.

"THE BIG EMPTINESS"

Others have more pragmatic objections to the project.

Berlin's Lehrter Bahnof in 1879

The site in the former no man's land at the intersection between east and west Berlin is rich in history -- but some argue it is anything but handy for Berliners.

The front of Lehrter Bahnhof in 1911

It was at Lehrter Bahnhof station that Germany's first chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, bid farewell to politics in 1890. Nearby is the place where Guenter Litfin was shot dead in August 1961 by East German guards as he tried to swim to the west -- just 11 days after the Berlin Wall was erected.

Lehrter Bahnhof 1948

Unlike other main central stations, there are no houses huddled around the tracks and some of the newly built tarmac streets around the station are virtually empty.

Berlin's daily newspapers dubbed the station "the centre of nowhere" and "the big emptiness", questioning how useful it would be for the city's residents who might struggle to get there because of poor links to the local transport network.

Mehdorn rejects these arguments.

"A station like this is only possible because there wasn't anything else, because it was a sand desert," he said.

"We are not building this station for the soccer World Cup, we are building it for the next 50 years."

Gerkan agrees that the station is more than a traffic hub.

"This station is the business card of Germany."

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International Herald Tribune: NOVEMBER 29, 2005

BERLIN The German government opposed preliminary plans to move the headquarters of Deutsche Bahn, the state-owned railroad, to Hamburg from Berlin, Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said Tuesday.

 "The federal cabinet is in agreement, following lengthy consultation, that based on structural-political reasons a move is unacceptable," Tiefensee said at a Berlin news conference.

 Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück also distanced the government from reports last week that Deutsche Bahn could float on the stock market as soon as 2007, although he hinted that he still expected revenue from such a listing by 2008 at the latest.

 "No one can say today when the Bahn listing will take place," Steinbrück said.

 Deutsche Bahn, which is preparing for a stock market listing, earlier conceded that the federal government would have to approve any decision on moving the headquarters from Berlin, which has an unemployment rate of 18 percent and where the railroad is the largest employer.

 Deutsche Bahn, which employs 250,000, is building one of Europe's largest rail stations in the German capital in preparation for the soccer World Cup next year.

 A departure of Deutsche Bahn from Berlin would be a blow for the new government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. The company's announcement on Friday that it was considering a move to Hamburg provoked a political dispute between the two cities, pitting the two parties in the new coalition government against each other.

 Berlin's mayor, Klaus Wowereit, is a Social Democrat, while Hamburg's mayor, Ole von Beust, a Christian Democrat.

 "With its headquarters, Deutsche Bahn is helping to strengthen the capital," Tiefensee said. Deutsche Bahn's presence in Berlin is important because "we want to convince small- and medium-size companies to move to the East, expand here or remain in the East."

 Von Beust, in a statement, said, "State intervention is the wrong way to generate economic growth. The new German government should nip the beginnings of this state intervention in the bud."

 Von Beust reiterated that the proposed sale of two city-owned transport companies in Hamburg was a "package deal" tied to Deutsche Bahn moving its headquarters to Germany's second-largest city.

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AFX News Limited: 11.29.2005

BERLIN - The German government opposes a possible move of state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG's headquarters to Hamburg from Berlin.

The move is politically 'unacceptable', said German transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee.

He said he will be discussing the matter with the parties concerned.

According to recent media reports, a move of headquarters to Hamburg is a condition for Deutsche Bahn to acquire majority stakes in local rail firm Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HHA) and port operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA).

Deutsche Bahn employs about 20,000 people in the German capital, of whom 800 work at administrative headquarters. The rail operator is also the biggest single employer in Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg.

UPDATE: Deutsche Bahn may move only logistics ops to Hamburg, not entire HQ - report

FRANKFURT (AFX) - State-owned Deutsche Bahn AG is considering moving only its logistics operations to Hamburg rather that the entire headquarters, Financial Times Deutschland reported, citing sources close to the company.

The transfer of the logistics division had always been the 'main focus' of the relocation plans, a source told the paper.

The German government said yesterday it opposed a possible move of the Berlin-based headquarters, with transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee calling the plans politically 'unacceptable'.

According to recent media reports, a move of headquarters to Hamburg is a condition for Deutsche Bahn to acquire majority stakes in local rail firm Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HHA) and port operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA).

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The Melbourne Age: November 30, 2005

Tasmania's freight rail service hangs in the balance as the federal government considers two reports about its viability.

The independent reports were instigated by the Tasmanian and federal governments after calls from Toll Holdings-Patricks' Tasmanian joint venture Pacific National, demanding the federal government foot a multi-million dollar bill to fix the ailing network.

Furious at Pacific National threats to withdraw its container service unless the government backed the rescue plan, Transport Minister Warren Truss and his Tasmanian counterpart Bryan Green ordered the two independent assessments.

The governments will sift through the reports, which take into account the requirements needed to keep the Tasmanian rail service operating.

"I will be working closely with my Tasmanian counterpart and Pacific National towards an acceptable outcome," Mr Truss said.

"We are aware of the urgency of the issue and hope for a resolution in the near future."

Mr Truss said he would take into the importance of freight rail to Tasmanian industry as part of a response to the issue.

The federal government discovered Pacific National's demands for $78 million in capital investment and $4 million a year for maintenance through media reports.

There was no mention of concerns over the viability of the Tasmanian rail network in meetings that Mr Truss held with Toll Holdings and Patrick Corporation earlier this year.

Mr Truss has already said Pacific National should not expect taxpayers to subsidise profitable companies.

The company bought the lease for the Tasmanian rail network two years ago.

In a statement last month, Mr Green said his government had received advice from Pacific National in February that government investment may be needed in five to seven years, and the amount was "tens of millions" less that their later request.

Federal opposition transport spokesman Kerry O'Brien said the federal government needed to accept responsibility for the mess that was created when it sold the Tasmanian rail system.

"It sold the rail system off lock, stock and barrel, and reaped some $20 million into government coffers in the process," Senator O'Brien said in a speech to the Transport Victoria Conference inMelbourne on Tuesday.

"But it forgot to put measures in place to ensure that the infrastructure would be maintained, without compromising the viability of the service," he said.

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Dow Jones Newswires: November 30, 2005

0827 GMT [Dow Jones] Go-Ahead Group (GOG.LN) +7% at 1525p.

Trader notes the company welcomes the decision by the Department of Transport to select 65%-owned subsidiary Govia for the new Kent Franchise. "I bet they welcomes it, we think it's worth as much as 150p to the share price," he says.

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BBC News: 30 November 2005

Train operator Govia has been given an eight-year franchise to run services across Kent and in parts of Sussex.

South Eastern Trains has been running the service since 2003

The franchise includes running domestic Channel Tunnel Rail Link services.

Govia, which also runs rail firm Southern, will take over from South Eastern Trains which was set up in 2003 after Connex lost its franchise.

The company promises to invest £76m in passenger and staff facilities, and build two new depots in Ashford and Ramsgate - but fares will increase.

Ticket prices are expected to rise by 3% above inflation.

Govia chief executive Keith Ludeman said: "I don't expect they'll be delighted but they should perhaps bear in mind that there is a lot of investment going into the railway - not before time."

The Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling, told BBC Radio Kent the fare increases could be justified.

"I've got to make sure we've got a very good railway service for Kent so we wanted to make sure we have good performance.

"We have already replaced a substantial amount of the rolling stock plus in this particular franchise by 2009 you'll have the first ever high-speed commuter trains," he added.

The South East franchise covers routes connecting Kent and East Sussex with London.

The franchise area covers Kent and parts of Sussex and London

The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) stripped French-owned Connex of its franchise in June 2003, stating poor financial management as the reason.

It was replaced five months later by South Eastern Trains, a subsidiary of the SRA.

The Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) had argued the region's train services should be kept under public sector control, claiming reliability had improved.

Four bidders were selected to compete for the Integrated Kent Franchise.

They were Danish State Railways, GNER, FirstGroup and Govia, which is a consortium of Go-Ahead Group and Keolis.

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AFX News Limited: 11.30.2005

LONDON - The Department for Transport said it has awarded the contract to run the integrated Kent rail franchise from April 1 next year to Govia, which is 65 pct owned by Go-Ahead Group PLC, with the rest held by French group Keolis SA.

The franchise runs for eight years, with the final two dependent on the company meeting performance targets, and covers Kent, parts of East Sussex and South East London.

It will also include new high speed commuter services from London's St Pancras station that will use the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from 2009.

The franchise attracts a government subsidy of 585 mln stg over its eight year life and Go-Ahead said it expects the franchise to generate annual revenues of 560 mln stg from the start, including government subsidies.

Services in the area have been run by South Eastern Trains, which is owned by the Strategic Rail Authority, following the termination of the Connex South Eastern Franchise in November 2003.

The government said the franchise area has already had about 700 mln stg invested in new rolling stock and improved infrastructure and some 250 mln stg will be invested in new high speed trains for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

The DfT added: 'Given investment in the region the new operator will increase fares by 3 pct above inflation from January 2007 for five years to ensure there is a fair balance in cost between the taxpayer and fare paying passenger.'

Also bidding for the franchise was a joint venture between DSB International and Stagecoach Group PLC, FirstGroup PLC, and a joint venture between GNER Holdings and MTR Corp.

'We submitted a robust and competitive bid and are confident that real benefits will be delivered for passengers in terms of improved services, punctuality and reliability,' said Go-Ahead chief executive Chris Moyes.

Keolis is owned by French national railway operator SNCF and the company's management.

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Department for Transport: November 30th 2005

Stock Market statement
The Department for Transport today announced that Govia has been awarded the contract to run the Integrated Kent franchise (IKF) from 01 April 2006.

The IKF will include routes on the national rail network currently operated by South Eastern Trains throughout Kent, parts of East Sussex and South East London.

It will also include new high speed commuter services from St Pancras making use of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) from 2009.

The franchise contract is for 8 years with the final 2 years dependent on service performance achieving preset targets. The total subsidy for IKF is £585m over 8 years.

The franchise area has already benefited from almost £700 million in investment on new rolling stock and improved infrastructure. £250 million will be invested on new high speed trains for CTRL.

Given investment in the region the new operator will increase fares by 3% above inflation from January 2007 for five years to ensure there is a fair balance in cost between the taxpayer and fare paying passenger.

Govia has also committed to:

* Invest around £76 million in passenger and staff facilities.

* Oversee the construction of two depots in East Kent to maintain the new and existing fleet of trains.

* Improve performance with all day PPM train performance of 91.6% by March 2010 and 93.74% by March 2014.

* Provide services which are additional to the base line DfT asked for in the ITT, including a strengthened half-hourly service to Beckenham Junction to Victoria, an additional peak service between Faversham and Cannon Street, two additional peak trains between Ashford and Charing Cross and some extra mid-evening and late evening trains to suburban and Kent destinations from London.

* Run services to Dover if safety concerns at the Shakespeare Tunnel can be overcome.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. The incumbent operator is South Eastern Trains (SET), a subsidiary of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). Following the termination of the Connex South Eastern Franchise on 9 November 2003 SET has run services across the region.

2. The four parties invited to bid for IKF were South Eastern Railways Ltd (a joint venture between DSB International and Stagecoach Group); First Kent Integrated Railways Ltd (FirstGroup plc); Great South Eastern Railway Limited (a joint venture between GNER Holdings and MTR Corporation) and London & South Eastern Railway Ltd (a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group and Keolis).

3. The total subsidy for IKF is £585m over 8 years. Year by Year values will be published shortly, once all the bidders who bid for IKF have been de-briefed. We anticipate publication of the annual subsidy amounts in mid-December.

4. On 27 October 2004, Alistair Darling announced Hitachi as the Preferred Manufacturer to build new high speed trains to operate on the IFT. The order is expected to be for 28 6-carriage trains to be introduced in 2009.

5. It is appropriate for the new franchisee to have the opportunity to review proposals on changes to ticket office hours on the SET network. It is expected that discussions amongst interested parties will take place in due course.

6. For further information, please contact the Department for Transport press office on 020 7944 3108.

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BBC News: 29 November 2005

Workers at South Eastern Trains (Set) are to go ahead with a strike on Monday despite a government order postponing plans to cut ticket office staffing. South Eastern Trains has 178 stations, not all of them manned.

The transport department said public concern about the changes meant they must not take place until the new year, after a new rail franchise is awarded.

The name of the new operator who will run services in Kent and parts of East Sussex will be announced by Christmas.

Set said it was holding talks with the RMT union to try to halt the walk-out.

The Rail Maritime and Transport Union claims 100 jobs could be lost if booking office staff are replaced with machines and opening hours cut.

"If they close rural ticket offices some of the stations will have no staff whatsoever" - Kenneth Leadbeater, Dartford Borough Council

Set has insisted there will be no job cuts and staff will be redeployed as customer advisers on platforms and ticket collectors on trains.

Dartford Borough Council has campaigned against the changes and its leader Kenneth Leadbeater said he was pleased at the government's "partial reprieve".

But he added: "The campaign continues because we must ensure that the current station opening hours remain when the new franchise takes over.

"If they close rural ticket offices some of the stations will have no staff whatsoever."

Leader of the RMT, Bob Crowe, said passengers wanted staff on stations and did not want them replaced by machines.

A statement from Set said: "If the strike goes ahead next Monday we have contingency plans to make sure passengers can buy tickets - and we expect the majority of ticket offices to be open."

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BBC News: 29 November 2005

Dozens of people are feared to have died after being knocked off the top of a train as it crossed a bridge in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Infrastructure has been hit by conflicts

Officials say about 60 may have been killed on the train that was travelling from Lubumbashi in the south-east to Kindu in central Maniema Province.

Goods stacked on the roof are believed to have hit support beams on the bridge and knocked passengers off the train.

An eyewitness said most were knocked into a river with a strong current.

Maniema Governor Koloso Sumaili told Reuters news agency that trains that travel on that line always have lots of people and goods on the roof.

"When the train was crossing over a bridge, the beams supporting the bridge swept people and goods off the train and into the river below," he said.

'Too soon'

The accident took place on Monday at 0900 local time (0800 GMT), but news emerged on Tuesday.

Dozens were travelling on the roof to avoid the ticket inspectors or because the train was overcrowded, the BBC's Arnaud Zajtman reports from Kinshasa.

Two people were confirmed dead and five seriously injured, the national railway said, quoted by Agence France Presse news agency.

The company acknowledged that some passengers had fallen into the river.

"Bodies usually surface after two days. It is too soon to give a final toll" from the accident, a local rail official said.

The regional governor said an investigation had been launched.

DR Congo's infrastructure has been shattered by conflicts which have hindered reconstruction.

The 1,400km long track was re-opened earlier this year after being shut for six years.

Frequent derailments means it usually takes the 800 passengers about two weeks to complete the 900km journey on the affected train, our correspondent says.

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Teamsters: November 29, 2005

Graniteville Report Highlights Vulnerability of Nation's Railways
(Washington, D.C.) – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) today recommended that rail companies make important operational changes, including reducing speeds in populated areas, to avoid another catastrophic accident like the crash in Graniteville, South Carolina, in January that killed nine people.

The deadly accident occurred when a Norfolk Southern train crashed into a parked freight train that was carrying tank cars of chlorine gas. One of the tank cars exploded, causing a cloud of toxic gas to blanket the area. Eight residents of Graniteville and the locomotive engineer operating the train died after inhaling the gas.

“Rail companies must act now to implement changes recommended by the NTSB to protect the public,” said John Murphy, Director of the Teamsters Rail Conference. “Our country cannot afford to wait for the Federal Railroad Administration to force these corporations to do what is right.”

The report by the NTSB highlights the very real danger of trains moving across tracks that have misaligned switches in “dark territory” or un-signaled territory. The NTSB says that rail companies should be required to install a device to visually or electronically alert workers to the position of the switch, day and night. Rail companies also should be required to position tank cars toward the rear of trains and to reduce speeds through populated areas to reduce the risk of deadly crashes, the NTSB said.

“This accident was devastating to the community and the country,” Murphy said. “We owe it to the citizens of Graniteville and the nine people who lost their lives to do everything we can to prevent another tragedy.”

The report also said railroads should provide an emergency escape breathing apparatus—and the appropriate training—to all crewmembers on freight trains carrying hazardous materials.

“We said from the beginning that if our son had been given an appropriate escape breathing apparatus, he might have survived this horrible accident,” said Rebecca Schmidt, the mother of Chris Seeling, the locomotive engineer who died in the crash. Seeling was a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), a division of the Teamsters Rail Conference.

Thousands of track switches are left unattended and unmonitored every day on rail tracks across the country. Locomotive engineers overwhelmingly warned that rail yards and equipment are not secure. In a recent Teamsters report, “High Alert: Workers Warn of Security Gaps on Nation’s Railroads,” 94 percent of locomotive engineers said rail yard access was not secure and 90 percent reported that rail equipment—including switches—were not secure. Most indicated that hazardous materials were part of the cargo being shipped along their daily routes.

“We will continue to closely monitor the status of changes to the rails in America—the rail corporations have got to make commitments to protect their employees and the public much more seriously than they ever have,” Murphy said.

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Reuters: 29 Nov 2005

WASHINGTON - Freight railroads should locate tankers hauling toxic chemicals toward the rear of trains or take other steps to minimize the crash impact in a derailment, U.S. transportation safety investigators said on Tuesday.

The recommendation to regulators came as the National Transportation Safety Board blamed rail workers for an improperly aligned track switch that led to the deadly collision of two freight trains last January in South Carolina.

The crash punctured a Norfolk Southern Railway Co. tank car carrying chlorine, releasing a gas cloud that settled over the town of Graniteville, killing the train's engineer and eight other people.

More than 5,000 people were evacuated from their homes for several days, hundreds complaining of breathing problems, officials said.

Investigators found the crew of the train struck on a siding while idle and unoccupied failed to tend to a switch that would have kept the Norfolk Southern train traveling on the main track.

"Contributing to the accident was the absence of any feature or mechanism that would have reminded crewmembers of the switch position," the safety board said.

The tanker carrying chlorine -- the ninth of 42 freight cars of the Norfolk Southern train -- was pierced on its side by the coupler of the 11th car.

The safety board recommended regulators make railroads minimize the potential consequences of a derailment. This could include placing tanker cars loaded with toxic material toward the rear of a train and making trains hauling such cargo go slower through populated areas.

The Norfolk Southern train was traveling at 47 mph.

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The Times: November 30, 2005
Leading Article

The rail companies should not price themselves out of public favour

Little infuriates consumers more than deception. The old trick of attracting sales with bogus prizes, fraudulent offers and non-existent bargains has long been outlawed, as have most sharp commercial practices. It is disappointing, therefore, to see these things returning at Christmas — and not in unregulated flea markets but on the main lines of Britain’s rail network. For the mysterious shortage of cheap fares over the holiday period and the attempt by train operators to make passengers pay premium rates smacks of old-fashioned consumer gouging.

Nothing has been announced. There has been no warning that the quota of discounted tickets has been reduced. Instead, rail companies maintain the fiction that the cheapest are still on offer, but tell those calling, even within days of booking lines opening, that all seats have gone. For 11 months of the year tickets from London to York can be bought in advance for £9.50; on the few days when families, rather than businessmen, think of taking a train to visit distant relations, they find that the cheapest fares after 8.00 am start at £39.50.

Rail companies, muttering about “commercial secrecy”, shy away from admitting that they are cashing in on their busiest few days in the year. They speak of “dynamic pricing” and point to airlines as an example of fares that vary according to demand. No one, they argue, complains when air fares go up at peak periods. But there is a crucial difference. The airlines receive no public subsidy. The railways, by contrast, are receiving £6.5 billion of public money this year — more than three times the highest subsidy ever given to British Rail and the equivalent of more than £6 per passenger. Airlines are purely commercial undertakings, and competition gives travellers the chance to shop around. Rail, even after privatisation, is still a public service, and most travellers are served by a monopoly provider.

This dickering with the normal fare structure is not only dishonest; it is commercially short-sighted. Rail accounts for only a very small percentage of private leisure travel. Train companies, like the Government, are eager to get people out of cars and on to the railways. But already they have introduced a myriad of promotional fares that is far too complex. Many people are confused and become suspicious that they have been deceived into paying more than they need have done. For most of the year rail operators spend heavily on marketing rail travel, with advertising campaigns urging passengers to take advantage of special offers by booking online and booking early. To change the rules over the Christmas period — while hiding behind bureaucratic vagueness — not only annoys the very people the railways need to woo back on to trains, it also gives the impression that a public service is taking the public for a ride.

Rail travel is now at levels not seen for 50 years. There is little spare capacity to lay on extra trains. But operators who ration demand by high prices may find after the holiday that those who could not afford the seats available do not try booking a second time.

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The Times: November 30, 2005
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

TRAIN companies are exploiting high demand for rail travel over the Christmas period by cutting their quotas of cheap tickets.

Anyone who has yet to book rail journeys for the Christmas holidays will struggle to find a cheap deal. The few tickets that were available have nearly all been snapped up after going on sale much earlier than in previous years.

Last year discount tickets for Christmas were put on sale as late as mid-December.

Thousands of passengers who are only now beginning to make travel plans will find they have to pay premium rates.

The Commons Transport Select Committee will question train companies today about their pricing policy at Christmas. Gwyneth Dunwoody, Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich and the committee’s chairman, said: "We are concerned that there aren’t enough cheap tickets on sale. The restricted selling patterns mean that by the time the public knows about it, it will be too late."

The companies advertise their cheapest fares but fail to mention that they are often unavailable.

GNER promotes a £9.50 single fare between London and York, but the cheapest ticket on sale yesterday on either December 23 or 24 was £26.50. Even this was available only on trains leaving before 8.30am. After 8.30am the price rose to a minimum of £39.50.

Virgin CrossCountry advertises a £25 single fare from Glasgow to Plymouth, but the cheapest single fare available for December 23 or 24 was £114, except for one train on December 24 that had seats at £42.50.

An analysis by Barry Doe, the fares consultant, commissioned by The Times, found that no discount tickets were available on five key Virgin CrossCountry routes on either December 22 or 23. Some cheap tickets were on offer for December 24, but only if passengers knew how to find them. Train ticket websites frequently fail to list the cheapest tickets because they only search for the quickest journey.

The Rail Passengers Council accused the companies of using the excuse of confidentiality to conceal profiteering. Anthony Smith, the council’s chief executive, said: "With huge sums of public money going into the railways, train companies must demonstrate how they offer value for money."

The Government fixes the price of "saver" tickets but train companies have reduced the number of trains on which they are available. The afternoon "peak" on GNER, when savers are not valid, now stretches from 2.59pm to 6.59pm.

A GNER spokesman said: "We are not out to be Scrooges. We are no different to the airlines in responding to the laws of supply and demand."

He said it was possible that more batches of cheap tickets would be released closer to Christmas if there were large numbers of unbooked seats.

Virgin Trains said: "There is no point in selling as many cheaper tickets on trains where we know there will be high demand. It just contributes to overcrowding."

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union called for a return of the cheap family tickets available under British Rail, which allowed children to travel with parents for £2 return. Bob Crow, the union’s general secretary, said: "When families are struggling to find money for presents, it is unacceptable that, travelling between Newcastle and Bristol on December 21 and returning a week later, it can cost two children and two adults £172."

BOOKING TIPS

* If no cheap tickets are available from your starting station, try booking from a station further up the line. On several trains on December 23, the cheapest fare between London and Newcastle is £100. However, from Peterborough to Newcastle the cheapest fare on the same services is £9.50. When this is combined with a £21.50 cheap day single from London to Peterborough, the passenger pays only £31

* Do not assume that train company call centres will quote the cheapest fares. They often fail to tell you about cheaper services run by rivals between the same stations. For services from London to the West Country, try South West Trains from Waterloo instead of First Great Western from Paddington

* Try booking tickets via Birmingham rather than London. Train websites always search for the fastest journey and may ignore much cheaper tickets on services which take a little longer. On December 24, the cheapest fare on most services from Bournemouth to Newcastle, via London, is £114.80. Travelling via Birmingham, the cheapest is £17.50

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La Vie du Rail: 29 November 2005

The famous ‘interoperable engines’ are not so interoperable after all.

SNCF President, Louis Gallois - Photo: Christophe Recoura

According to reliable sources, German authorities have withdrawn approval for new BB 437000 SNCF freight locos. Amongst other reasons given for prohibiting their access to the network is that their weight does not conform to UIC standards, according to 'tests' carried out by the EBA (German Federal Railway Authority).

In June 29, 2005, when announcing clearance for the French freight locos to work over the German rail network, the EBA had put conditions on their operation through an agreement with dBNetz (German Network Rail).

However, in a letter received on August 23, 2005, the infrastructure manager withdrew his approval, referring to an "infrastructure access" problem discovered during dynamic testing: "lateral movement" would be too great in "short radius curves".

Questioned on this point, the SNCF President confirmed our information: "Our engines were first approved this summer and we have just learned that new modifications are necessary so as to make them acceptable. These ratification problems are inextricable".

Hartmut Medhorn (President of dBAG, German Railways) and Louis Gallois (SNCF President) have grappled with the subject, the dB President promising to intercede on SNCF’s behalf. On the ground, train drivers at Thionville, who had just obtained the requisite authorisation to operate as far as Gremberg (close to Cologne) must content themselves today with driving just a few kilometres inside German territory.

An exemption authorises them to operate up to Ehrang, of course, but according to a reliable source, this is far from being an unselfish measure: "If dBNetz had announced a total ban, Railion (the Dutch/German privatised Rail Freight Operator) would have had difficulties in coming to collect freight at the border. It would have been necessary to bring 181 dual-network functional machines into service between Apach and Ehrang".

A crisis meeting was organised by the engineering management on November 8, to enumerate possible measures to resolve the problem. Amongst them, the possibility of carrying out further tests with flange greasers, which were isolated during the first dynamic testing.

At the same time, negotiations are ongoing with the German authorities. Sources hope to see them going on until June 2006.

While he is waiting, Louis Gallois does not hide his irritation: "While this is going on, lorries continue to cross borders and no-one asks them if they have approval or not".

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Bloomberg: Nov. 29

The Deutsche Bahn, Germany's state- owned railway, will consult with the federal government before making a decision on moving its headquarters from Berlin to Hamburg.

"Chief Executive Hartmut Mehdorn has made assurances that as the owner of the bahn, the government will be closely involved from here on out in the decision-making process,'' German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said in a faxed statement today. "The German government will thereby make certain that the interests of all concerned parties are taken into account.''

Tiefensee, who met with Mehdorn yesterday to discuss the possible move, will brief Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet today on the discussions.

Deutsche Bahn said on Nov. 25 it planned to buy harbor operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG and public-transport operator Hamburger Hochbahn AG from the city of Hamburg. At the same time, it said it was considering moving "central functions'' of the company to Hamburg as the northern port city is a "natural center'' for its "worldwide logistics'' operations.

A decision on a move to Hamburg will come "at the beginning of 2006,'' Tiefensee said in the statement.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Chad Thomas in Berlin at cthomas16@bloomberg.net.
Claudia Rach in Berlin at crach1@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: November 29, 2005 04:20 EST

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The Times: November 29, 2005
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

CONGESTION charging is to be extended to towns and cities across England under government plans for a fundamental change in the way drivers pay for using the roads. Click
{{popup road_price_graphic.jpg road_price_graphic 600x635}}road_price_graphic for a full-sized image of the proposed road pricing schemes.

Local authorities in seven areas were yesterday awarded £7 million to develop a model charging scheme that will be rolled out over the entire road network in the next 10-15 years.

The authorities will study new technology that can target motorists who travel at the busiest times, charging them up to £1.34 a mile.

They will also consider new taxes on workplace parking spaces to deter people from driving to work. Parking meter charges will increase sharply and thousands of bays will be converted from long-stay to short-stay.

Alistair Darling, the Transport Secretary, made clear that the new charging schemes would be much more sophisticated than the £8 daily toll in Central London. He believes that Ken Livingstone’s scheme is too crude because it is based on a flat rate that fails to take account of distance travelled or the amount of congestion.

Mr Darling wants towns and cities outside London to test electronic tagging and satellite tracking systems that allow charges to be directly related to the level of traffic on the roads.

The seven areas taking part in the studies are Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Tyne & Wear, Cambridgeshire, Durham, Shrewsbury and a coalition of authorities around Bristol and Bath.

Mr Darling said that the studies would not necessarily result in charging schemes in every city involved. But he said that the first scheme would be announced within 18 months and one or two areas would start charging drivers by 2008 or 2009.

These schemes would allow the technology to be tested before it was adopted by other areas.

The Government has allocated up to £200 million a year from 2008 to help local authorities introduce charging systems. Participating councils will also be given greater control over local bus services in a move that is likely to anger private bus companies.

Mr Darling said: “If you tell people the city is too congested for their cars, you have to offer them a proper bus service.

“It’s inconceivable to me that we will not give (councils) additional controls so buses can be coordinated with everything else.”

Several councils taking part in the studies had been lukewarm about the idea of congestion charging until Mr Darling assured them that they would receive extra funding for public transport. Manchester hopes that Mr Darling will unblock funding for extensions to its tram network in return for its cooperation in testing congestion charging.

The city plans to work with Norwich Union, which has launched a “pay-as-you-drive” insurance policy under which 5,000 customers’ cars are tracked by satellite. The same system could also be used to charge tolls that vary according to distance and time.

The West Midlands also favours a system of flexible tolls but voiced concerned that regions could lose trade to their neighbours if they made driving more expensive.

A third of small businesses in London say that they have considered relocating out of the congestion charge zone because profits have slumped. However, it has had some success in reducing traffic levels with statistics showing that the number of miles travelled by cars in London has decreased by about 1.5 per cent since its introduction in February 2003.

Tyne & Wear is considering using profits from its proposed charging scheme to compensate businesses for loss of trade.

It is also studying whether to use some of the revenue to give a council tax rebate to city centre residents to compensate for traffic pollution.

Cambridge is proposing a charge that would be “fiscally neutral” for the average motorist, who would receive “credits” for public transport equal to the sum paid in tolls. But high-mileage drivers would pay more than they do now.

Mr Darling said that a national charging scheme would replace either fuel duty or vehicle excise duty but could result in an increase in the overall sum paid by motorists. He had previously suggested that a national scheme would be revenue neutral.

“It is impossible to predict what the tax regime is going to be 2015,” he said. “But I’m convinced that without more radical measures road congestion will get worse.

“Local and regional pilots are essential if we are to explore and understand the possibilities of road pricing at national level.”

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The Guardian: November 29, 2005
Mark Milner, industrial editor

Britain moved a step closer towards the introduction of road pricing yesterday when the government announced it had chosen seven local authorities to run pilot schemes aimed at tackling local traffic congestion in their areas.

The authorities, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Tyne & Wear, Cambridge, Bristol, Durham and Shropshire, will share more than £7m to fund the development of schemes which will form part of the government's study of road pricing feasibility promised last year.

Transport secretary Alistair Darling told the CBI conference road congestion was one of the biggest threats to economic expansion over the next 10 to 15 years. The government, he said, was adding new capacity where it was needed and changing the ways roads were managed. But while he acknowledged such measures, alongside better public transport, would make a difference, he warned that without radical measures congestion would get worse. "That's why I've been clear about the need to look at road pricing. Local and regional pilots are essential if we are to explore and understand the possibilities of road pricing at national level." Mr Darling said the government would ensure a coordinated approach to the trials. "Because I want this to be part of a national scheme we will work with these authorities to develop a coherent framework which will ensure a consistent approach across all schemes ... government will be in the lead - we cannot have a fragmented approach."

A CBI survey published yesterday showed business is increasingly concerned about the impact of congested roads and rail hold-ups which it estimated costs British business about £20bn a year.

The employers' organisation wants £300bn, from a mixture of public and private sources, spent on transport over the next decade - 25% above planned levels.

Responding to Mr Darling's plans for road pricing pilots, Michael Roberts, director of business environment for the CBI, said: "Road pricing has a role to play but must be integrated with other policies including public transport and planning."

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29 November 2005

A Derby company that manufactures high-technology rail products is axing almost 100 jobs to cut costs.

AEA Rail, located at Pride Park in Derby, is making almost a quarter of the workforce redundant by closing its test centre.

Managing director Stuart Hill said: "We are hoping to make the business more flexible so we can bring people in again - perhaps on contract jobs."

A consultation process is taking place with the employees and their unions.

The firm laid off another 100 workers earlier this year after a slump in profits.

"The signalling side of the business is doing well and we hope to transfer across to that side of the business," Mr Hill said.

"It is question of supply and demand in the sector and at the moment there is too much supply."

The firm also makes equipment that removes leaves on the line and monitors train and track performance.

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BBC News: 28 November 2005

Bosses at the Corus rail-making plant in Workington, Cumbria, have promised to consider proposals to save jobs.

It was announced in February that 250 workers would be made redundant when production ends in July 2006.

But now bosses have pledged to consider other uses for the site, after talks with the Community Union, formerly the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation.

A union spokesman said the management had also agreed to a further meeting before Christmas.

Bosses were also asked to consider that there could be new demand for steel rail now that London has been granted the 2012 Olympics.

Scaled-down

In February, steel giant Corus announced production was being switched from the Workington plant to Scunthorpe with the loss of 250 Cumbrian jobs.

A taskforce was set up to discuss another use for the Workington site.

Union leaders are hoping Monday's meeting will persuade management to keep specialist crane and tram rail production at the site.

A spokesman for the Community Union said: "The task force was set up to look at other ways of using the Corus plant.

"We were wondering if we could carry on with a scaled down operation and carry on producing obscure rails that people can't get anywhere else."

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Bloomberg: Nov. 28

The German government will look into a plan by state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn AG to move its headquarters from Berlin to Hamburg that has provoked a dispute between Germany's two biggest cities.

"Chancellor Angela Merkel has asked Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee to brief the Cabinet tomorrow about Deutsche Bahn's concrete plans,'' Merkel's spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm told a regular government press briefing today in Berlin. Tiefensee will today hold talks with Deutsche Bahn Chief Executive Hartmut Mehdorn, Transport Ministry spokesman Dirk Inger said.

Deutsche Bahn said on Nov. 25 it plans to buy harbor operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG and public-transport operator Hamburger Hochbahn AG from the city of Hamburg. At the same time, it said it is considering moving "central functions'' of the company to Hamburg as the northern port city is a "natural center'' for its "worldwide logistics'' operations.

The Hamburg city government will only allow Deutsche Bahn to buy the two companies if it moves its headquarters and 1,000 members of top management to the city, Hamburg finance department spokesman Sebastian Panknin said today in an interview. Deutsche Bahn is Berlin's biggest employer, with 19,000 staff, including 1,900 at its headquarters at Potsdamer Platz.

"The presence of the Deutsche Bahn as a job provider, educator and investor here in Berlin and also in the eastern German states will continue'' regardless of the final decision reached, Mehdorn said in a statement today.

Mayors' Statements

"If Mr. Mehdorn wants to pack his suitcases then we shouldn't stop him from doing so,'' the Berliner Zeitung newspaper today quoted Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit as saying. Still, Wowereit said, the headquarters staff should stay in the capital.

Mehdorn said on Nov. 25 that talks with Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust on the sale of the two companies had been "constructive and promising, although no decision has been reached yet.'' He said cooperation with Hamburg harbor offers great opportunities to boost rail cargo traffic.

The railway would spend 500 million euros ($590 million) on the move and probably eliminate positions in the process, the Berlin-based newspaper Der Tagesspiegel reported today, citing unnamed officials close to the Bahn's supervisory board. The board is likely to vote on the matter Dec. 7, the newspaper said.

"The supervisory board is the panel that will make a decision on this matter, just like in all companies,'' and not the government, Deutsche Bahn spokesman Heiner von der Laden said, declining to comment on the costs of a move to Hamburg.

Sale Plans

The city of Hamburg owns 100 percent of both Hamburger Hafen und Logistik and Hamburger Hochbahn and wants to sell between 25 percent and 75 percent of each company, Panknin said.

Hamburger Hafen, which runs Hamburg's port, rents storage space and provides logistics services, posted a 32.4 million-euro ($38 million) net profit in 2004 after a loss of 8.5 million euros a year earlier, according to the company's Web site. The port increased earnings last year by 14 percent to 746 million euros and employed 3,334 people at the end of 2004.

The Hochbahn, which runs Hamburg's public-transportation system, providing service to 318 million riders annually, narrowed its loss last year to 63.1 million euros from 67.4 million euros, according its Web site. The company employed 4,246 people as of the end of last year.

The German government is planning to sell shares of Deutsche Bahn in an initial public offering to a strategic investor. A decision will depend on a report to be drawn up by experts, the new government of Merkel's Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, which took office six days ago, said in their coalition agreement. Mehdorn originally planed to sell shares as early as 2006.

The dispute between Berlin and Hamburg pits the two parties in the new government against each other. Wowereit is a Social Democrat, while von Beust is a Christian Democrat.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Claudia Rach in Berlin at crach1@bloomberg.net;
Chad Thomas in Berlin at cthomas16@bloomberg.net.

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AFP: November 28, 2005  

The German government expects to be able to raise 1.25 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars) by listing 25 percent of the share capital of the Deutsche Bahn rail operator on the stock exchange.

Deutsche Bahn employees work on a railroad embankment in Berlin.

The partial privatisation would take place sooner than planned and the proceeds would be used to help finance a number of government projects, the Handelsblatt business newspaper said Monday, quoting political sources.

Deutsche Bahn chief Hartmut Mehdorn has said the rail operator will be ready to take its first steps on the stock market next year.

But the previous government under Gerhard Schroeder put the brakes on the privatisation plans, arguing that the group was not profitable enough.

Recent press reports have said the new government is set to reach a decision early next year on the conditions for a flotation.

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RMT: 28 November 2005

NOVEMBER 28: BRITAIN’S BIGGEST rail union today welcomed the decision to postpone plans to cut South Eastern Trains’ booking office opening hours, and urged the company to drop associated plans that still threaten 100 ticket-office jobs.

More than 3,000 SET users objected to the company’s proposals to slash booking office hours during a statutory consultation held by the company earlier this year.

However, the company has not yet dropped plans to reduce by 60 the number of ticket-issuing machines in booking offices, and the union’s 100 booking-office members will strike next Monday (December 5) over the continuing threat to jobs.

“It is a huge step in the right direction that the plans to cut booking-office hours have at least been shelved, and of course we welcome that,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“However, that decision will be meaningless if the company goes ahead with the associated plans that would seriously reduce the number of machines that booking-office staff use to issue tickets.

“Thousands of SET passengers and the key passenger groups made it quite clear that they wanted to see more staff on stations, not fewer, and it is a positive step to recognise that fact.

“The company is defying logic if it presses ahead with its plans to replace booking-office equipment with automated foyer machines, because the result will be the same – fewer staff, longer queues and missed trains.

“The logical step for SET is to shelve these plans and negotiate a sensible solution that maintains the level of staffing and service that passengers want and our members demand,” Bob Crow said.

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SUD-Rail: Paris, 28th November 2005
To RMT South Eastern Trains Ticket Office workers:

Dear Comrades,
We would like to send you our best wishes for the struggle you are organising to keep ticket office jobs in South Eastern Trains.

Situation is the same in France as SNCF threaten 2,230 main-lines tickets-office jobs in the next 3 years. 7,900 railwaymen are working in SNCF call-centers or ticket offices.

We share RMT point of view about the consequences of that: workers oppose themselves to these massive suppressions of jobs which is going to increase bad conditions to buy tickets. We never heard users asking Train Companies to close desks !

In France, SNCF, in the same time also reduce call-centre staff. Train Companies want users to get tickets by Internet because that kind of distribution is cheaper. This situation is not only a reality for SET or SNCF but FS (Italy) and SNCB (Belgium) are on the same path. In Germany (DB) and in Italy, companies just sell tickets in supermarket !

We organised a meeting in Paris on 16th June. We were about 500 ticket office workers in front of the building of SNCF Directors asking to keep our jobs. We succeeded in organising a strike on 9th November and we of course were part of the national strike on 22nd and 23rd November.

Management reduced jobs cuts from 2,330 to… 2,230 after the last two days strike. This is not enough and we, certainly, will continue to struggle.

Please receive our best wishes for the struggle to keep your jobs in SET ticket offices !

Best regards,

For SUD-rail federation,

Emmanuelle Bigot
Christian Mahieux

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RMT: 28 November 2005

MARITIME UNION RMT today condemned the “bully-boy” tactics employed by Irish Ferries against crews of two of its ships docked in Pembroke and Holyhead, and pledged complete support to Ireland’s SIPTU trade union battling to save its members’ jobs.

RMT also called for action over the serious threat to safety of the company’s use of ‘security guards’ to raid its own vessels – in breach of international security rules – while berthed in British ports, and the continued denial of access by International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) inspectors to the crews of the two vessels.

Crews of the Isle of Inishmore and Ulysses were today still barricaded aboard their vessels, docked respectively in Pembroke and Holyhead, after Irish Ferries used security guards in an attempt to install low-paid, non-unionised replacement crews from eastern Europe.

“Irish Ferries’ bully-boy tactics are not only highly dangerous but are almost certainly in breach of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“The Marine and Coastguard Agency should investigate the company’s reckless actions as a matter of urgency and ensure that ITF inspectors are allowed access to the crews.

“But it is now crystal clear that we urgently need Europe-wide government action to plug the legal loopholes that allow shipowners like Irish Ferries to sack union-organised seafarers and replace them with super-exploited overseas labour.

“We need to ensure that all shipowners observe decent minimum standards of pay and conditions and are bound by UN conventions on human rights.

“In the meantime RMT will do everything it can to assist SIPTU and its members in this crucial dispute,” Bob Crow said.

ends

For further information call Derek Kotz on 07939 595 092, RMT National Secretary Steve Todd on 07779 104 231, or ITF inspector Norrie McVicar on 07768 652 257. 

Notes to editors: RMT is working alongside maritime unions in Ireland, Belgium, France and the Netherlands to end ‘social dumping’ in which unionised crews are replaced with super-exploited, unorganised overseas labour employed on rates often below minimum-wage levels and working dangerously long hours.

In Britain the union is calling for an end to the exemption of shipowners from the Race Relations Act that allows them to continue discriminating with impunity.

RMT is also campaigning for the Tonnage Tax, under which shipowners receive millions in tax relief simply for setting up an operational base in the UK, is made conditional on providing training and jobs for UK ratings.

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Irish Business News: 28 November, 2005

The Irish Times reports that Irish Ferries and the Siptu trade union have agreed to attend exploratory talks today amid fears of a further escalation of their dispute over company plans to replace Irish crews with cheaper foreign workers.

The move comes following yesterday's diversion of an Irish Ferries vessel from Rosslare to Dublin when harbour workers in Co Wexford refused to allow the ship to dock at its original destination.

The MV Normandy docked in Dublin Port shortly before 11pm last night - almost 24 hours after leaving Cherbourg, France, with more than 100 passengers on board.

A Siptu spokesman said it had lifted its threat to block the ship from docking at Dublin Port on "humanitarian grounds".

Earlier, Siptu workers in Rosslare refused to allow the vessel into the Co Wexford port despite claims from Irish Ferries that a crew member had been injured on board.

The Normandy had departed from Cherbourg more than eight hours after Irish Ferries had been informed by Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail), operators of Rosslare Port, that the vessel would not be allowed to dock there. An Irish Ferries spokesman rejected suggestions that passengers had been used as "hostages" in the dispute.

Meanwhile, the Labour Relations Commission has confirmed that it has invited Irish Ferries and Siptu to attend exploratory discussions today. The company is due to attend in the morning, and the trade union in the afternoon.

The National Implementation Body, the State's partnership watchdog, is also monitoring the dispute and is expected to become involved if the LRC initiative fails.

In a separate development, the executive council of the trade union umbrella group Congress is meeting tomorrow to discuss plans for a national day of protest over plans by Irish Ferries to outsource jobs.

Siptu had called for a national protest this Friday, but it is understood the Congress executive is more likely to organise the action on Thursday, December 8th, when schools will be closed.

While Irish Ferries had managed to sail the Normandy this weekend, the company's three other ships remain moored in Dublin and Wales amid threats of further protests from crew.

Four officers on the Isle of Inishmore, moored in Pembroke, remain barricaded in the ship's control room.

The stand-off with management at the Welsh port escalated for a time yesterday when the officers sealed off the access bridge for several hours, preventing replacement crew from coming on board.

Siptu says the blockade was lifted when management assured the protesters that they would not bring on board replacement officers. However, Irish Ferries has denied knowledge of the incident.

Alf McGrath, head of human resources at Irish Ferries, said he did not anticipate a service on the Isle of Inishmore today. Bookings have also been suspended for the Ulysses, which is similarly stranded in Holyhead, and on the Jonathan Swift, moored in Dublin Port.

Don Hall, head of media relations at the company, defended its decision to sail the Normandy on Saturday night despite having been told by Iarnród Éireann that it would not be able to dock in Rosslare.

Mr Hall said there was "no impediment to the safe operation of the service" and as a result Irish Ferries had asked Iarnród Éireann to fulfil its contractual obligations and allow the vessel into the port.

An Iarnród Éireann spokesman said: "We would like to be able to facilitate our consumer but we made it clear before they set sail what the situation was. We are unhappy the situation has developed in this way."

Iarnród Éireann is to hold separate talks with Siptu at the LRC tomorrow over the union's decision to refuse to deal with the Irish Ferries vessel at Rosslare.

In a related development, private-sector trade union leaders are meeting today to discuss the dispute and whether it should preclude them from getting involved in talks on a new national pay agreement.

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Daily Record: 28 November 2005
By Steven Ventura

Charlene faces £10k hit over train delays
A MUM-OF-THREE whose car plunged 40ft on to a railway line is facing a bill for thousands of pounds - because she delayed trains.

Charlene Sloan, 25, walked away virtually unscathed after the smash near Girvan, Ayrshire.

Her Ford Mondeo skidded off the road, catapulted over a wall and then tumbled down an embankment on to a railway track.

The vehicle was written off but Charlene was able to crawl out, suffering only a bruised knee.

Fearing a train could be derailed if it hit the car, she raised the alarm.

But she was stunned two days later when Network Rail chiefs told the factory worker she was liable for cancelled services and damage to company property.

The bill is estimated to be £10,000. Charlene said: "It wasn't even a case of, 'Sorry to hear about the accident and hope you are all right.' "All they are interested in is how much money it's going to cost to fix the railway line and who's going to pay for it.

"It is completely outrageous and I want an apology from Network Rail."

Charlene was returning home after a shift at British Dental Floss when she lost control.

Police later said it was mostly likely caused by black ice. Her car skidded as she neared a bend at a railway bridge on the B741 near Girvan, Ayrshire.

It toppled over the wall, ripped through a fence before overturning several times and landing on the line.

Charlene said: "It all happened in slow motion. When the car came to rest I couldn't believe I had plunged down the embankment.

"As I was walking away, I tripped over the track and that's when it hit me I was on a railway line."

The mum-of-three immediately called 999 from her mobile and told officers her car was smashed up on the Ayr to Stranraer line.

Rail traffic was suspended for about eight hours until a heavy crane was brought to lift the car off the tracks following the November 15 crash.

But while Charlene was recovering from her ordeal, a letter was being prepared by Network Rail officials.
It states: "The bridge is the property of Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd and accordingly you shall be held liable for any costs incurred by us as a consequence of this incident"These costs may include an inspection fee, material damage costs and any train delays."

Network Rail officials now estimate the incident cost them about £10,000.

The bill includes damage to seven yards of wall, six yards of fencing, as well as losses incurred by cancelling a train and cutting another service short.

Charlene's partner Derek Fleming is also furious with Network Rail.

He said: "This could have been a very serious crash but all Network Rail care about is who is picking up the bill."

A Network Rail spokeswoman said any costs would be sought from Charlene's insurers: "It is standard practice when incidents like these occur to contact the party involved to find out the insurance details.

"We are not pursuing the individual."

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The Mirror: 28 November 2005

RAIL workers are to go on strike for a day over plans to shed 100 jobs.

South Eastern Trains wants to replace booking office staff with machines and cut opening hours.

RMT union members will walk out for 24 hours on December 5 after backing action by an 8-1 vote.

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said: "Thousands of passengers have objected to these plans and we are asking them to support our members as they take action to defend their jobs and the services they provide."

He added: "The massive attack on jobs and services would leave stations severely understaffed or not staffed at all."

He said the company, which runs services into London, was "throwing away" progress made in the two years since it took over the running of the franchise from Connex.

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The Guardian: November 26, 2005
Hugh Muir

The confidential £1.5m deal that will see Bob Kiley, London's transport commissioner, leave his job in January but remain a consultant to the mayor of London is to be subjected to official scrutiny.

Members of the London assembly plan to ask Mr Kiley and Ken Livingstone why the American is being paid £750,000 in severance pay and fees of an equal amount. The Guardian yesterday revealed that Mr Kiley left after a row with the mayor about his desire to dismiss a senior member of the TfL staff.

The assembly will pay attention to the arrangement which will see Mr Kiley remaining for another three years in the Belgravia townhouse bought for him by Transport for London in 2001 for £2.5m.

Roger Evans, the Conservative chairman of the transport committee, said: "There are many questions. We need to know what was the cause of his resignation?

"Was it by mutual consent? How much will this cost the taxpayer? Does the deal include a gagging order? If so, why?"

Bob Crow, of the RMT rail workers union, said: "As far as we are concerned he did nothing to make London Underground any better and he has waltzed away with a package others would dream about. We will certainly take this into account when we next discuss our pay."

Steve Norris, a former TfL board member, said: "I was one of those who selected Bob ... but he has not proved as good as we had hoped. I would have hastened his departure some time ago. "

But Mr Kiley was supported by Brian Cooke, chairman of the commuter group London TravelWatch for improving buses, the running of the underground and the congestion charge: "He was a good thing."

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AFX News Limited: 11.28.2005

FRANKFURT - German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck is considering the part-privatisation of Deutsche Bahn AG earlier than planned in a bid to raise fresh funds, Handelsblatt newspaper reported, citing unnamed government sources.

Selling 25 pct of the German rail operator would raise around 1.25 bln eur, Handelsblatt said.

Deutsche Bahn is currently in lengthy talks with the Hamburg state government to acquire majority stakes in local rail firm Hamburger Hochbahn and port operator HHLA, the newspaper added, citing company sources.

A move of Deutsche Bahn's headquarters to Hamburg from Berlin is understood to be a prerequisite of the deal, it added

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The Asahi Shimbun: November 26, 2005

I once went inside a Paris Metro train driver's booth for a story I was writing. Even though I had a permission to be there, I was very careful not to stand in the driver's peripheral vision. All the time I was in the booth the driver's eyes were focused on the tracks ahead.

Tobu Railway Co., a private railway servicing the Kanto region, dismissed a driver earlier this month for allowing his 3-year-old son into the driver's booth while the train was running. When his dismissal was reported by the media, as many as 2,000 people contacted Tobu to let the company know what they thought of its action. The vast majority of these comments were critical of the company's "overly harsh treatment."

According to Tobu, the driver, who is in his 30s, was operating a regular-service train from Saitama Prefecture to Chiba Prefecture. It was the last run of his shift.

At a station along the route, his wife got on the front car of the train with the couple's 3-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. Apparently excited to see his father in the booth, the boy banged on the door, shouting, "Papa! Papa!"

The wife was helpless to control the boy, as she had her whimpering little girl squirming in her arms. When the driver opened the door a crack to tell his son to behave, the boy darted into the booth. The driver tried to lead him out, but the boy crouched on the floor and bawled. The driver operated the train for about four minitues with the boy inside his booth.

The Asahi Shimbun also received comments from readers, both for and against the man's dismissal. One reader said: "This could have led to a big accident. Had that actually happened, the operator would have bitterly regretted it for the rest of his life. His dismissal was completely justified." Another reader observed, "When the 3-year-old eventually finds out why his dad was fired, he is going to be deeply scarred emotionally."

There is no question that safe train operation must come first, and that the operator should not have let his family ride in the front car. Having said that, however, I still think Tobu could have considered giving the man a second chance after making him truly understand what it means to be entrusted with the lives of countless people.

Wednesday was Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan. I thought about this man as I rode a train, standing next to the door of the driver's booth.

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Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union SIPTU: 25 November 2005

The Union's General President, Jack O’Connor, is to call on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Executive to hold a national day of protest, next Friday, December 2, in support of embattled Irish Ferries workers. He will make the call at the ICTU Executive Council meeting later this morning.

SIPTU protest against Irish Ferries attempt to replace workers with outsourced foreign labour on €3.50 an hour (less than half the minimum Irish wage) on Nov 3rd 2005 in Dublin attracted a turnout of between 8,000 to 10,000 people and included members of French unions

He said the dispute represented a defining moment for workers, employers, the Government and every citizen about the type of society in which they wished to live; one based on decency and fair play, or one based on thuggery, exploitation and the law of the jungle.

“The Irish Ferries dispute is a defining moment in the relations between employers and workers in this country. It is a moment which challenges everyone, on all sides, to declare on the side of decency, social dialogue and constructive engagement, or on the side of thuggery, brutality and the law of the jungle.

“At moments such as this it is not enough for those who are entrusted with public responsibility to utter comforting words and do nothing else. To use an old adage, ‘All that is required for evil to prosper is for people of good will to stand back and do nothing’.

“In a moment such as this you are on one side or the other. Indeed I am aware that a great number of employers are repelled by the scenes that are unfolding.

“As SIPTU has consistently stated throughout, the future of social partnership comes down to the question as to whether the Government is prepared to take the necessary measures to address job displacement, exploitation and the protection of employment standards. Whereas we have said that its future will not be decided by one dispute, it is difficult to see how it can survive if the Government cannot bring itself to address these issues in this high profile situation.

“At today’s meeting of the Executive Council of ICTU we intend to move a motion asking Congress to intensify its campaign of support for Irish Ferries workers and its call for measures to address these issues of job displacement, exploitation and protection of employment standards. We will be calling for a national day of protest on Friday, December 2, with a march from Parnell Square, Dublin, to Government Buildings to highlight these demands; inviting not only trade unionists but citizens from all walks of life to participate," he concluded.

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Ireland online: 26/11/2005

Irish Ferries have cancelled all weekend crossings due to industrial action as the tense stand off between the company and workers shows no signs of abating.

SIPTU members remain in control of two of the company's vessels which have been prevented from setting to sea now for two days.

The action came to a head on Thursday when overseas' workers and security staff were deployed on board the Isle of Inismore and Ulysses ferries.

The worker’s union is now threatening to mount blockades of ports unless the security personnel and agency crews are removed.

SIPTU say they remain convinced that Irish Ferries is prepared to do anything but talk.

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The Sunday Business Post: 27 November 2005  
By Niamh Connolly and Pat Leahy

British police have boarded at least one of the Irish Ferries vessels at the centre of the stand-off over the company's plans to replace Irish jobs with migrant staff paid below the minimum wage.

Government sources said the British police had been in contact with Irish government officials and were informing them of developments aboard the Isle of Inismore at Pembroke, where four ships' officers have barricaded themselves into the control room.

It was also learned that the British Health and Safety Executive was examining whether a breach of its laws took place last Thursday evening, when security personnel were brought on board the ship allegedly disguised as passengers to implement the company's displacement plan.

Irish Ferries crews attached to the company's other two boats, the Ulysses and the Jonathan Swift, are threatening to take similar action if the company tries to sail with cheaper agency staff.

Crisis talks took place last Friday evening involving government officials at the Departments of the Taoiseach, Marine and Enterprise to ensure that every legal avenue available to the government to act against Irish Ferries had been explored.

It follows Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's comments last week that the government had done all it could to resolve the dispute, which is threatening the future of social partnership.

However, it has emerged that the government last year opposed an EU directive designed to ensure uniform working conditions for ferry workers, irrespective of their nationality.

The proposed Ferries Directive was dropped after being opposed at the EU Council of Ministers by Ireland and several other countries. Union sources claim that the directive would have prevented Irish Ferries from replacing its Irish crews with cheaper, eastern European labour. The company intends to reflag its ships to Cyprus, also an EU member.

The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources said this weekend that Ireland opposed the Ferries Directive because of “a number of concerns'‘.

The department was unable to say whether the government had been lobbied on the issue by Irish Ferries.

Sources also said this weekend that the government had received legal advice that any move to prevent Irish Ferries from using state-owned ports would result in the company seeking an injunction.

An executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) will meet on Tuesday to discuss the dispute and hear calls from Siptu for a national day of protest on Thursday.

Siptu has been highly critical of Irish Ferries management, and the use of security services by the firm.
Separately, several Irish Ferries officers are considering legal action against the firm's director of human resources, Alf McGrath, over comments he made on RTE radio last Friday.

McGrath said officers had damaged equipment on the ferry, Normandy, during strike action last year.

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BBC News: 27 November 2005

An Irish Ferries stand-off is in its fourth day, with union claims that 30 crew members are barricaded in ships at Pembroke Dock and Holyhead.

The Isle of Inishmore has been in Pembroke Dock since Thursday

They are protesting at plans to replace staff with cheaper workers from abroad.

The dispute is set to escalate after port workers said they would not handle a ferry arriving from France on Sunday.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern criticised Irish Ferries' handling of the row, but the company said it had to bring in foreign staff in order to remain competitive.

The MV Normandy left Cherbourg at 2330 GMT on Saturday and was due to dock in Rosslare at 1645 GMT on Sunday.

"About everything that they have done in their handling of this I fundamentally and totally disagree with" - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern criticises Irish Ferries

But port workers in Rosslare, and their counterparts in Dublin, announced they would turn the vessel away when it arrived. There were reports suggesting that the Normandy could head to Cork instead.

They were the latest developments in a row which began on Thursday when some crew members seized control of the Isle of Inishmore after new eastern European crew members boarded.

The Isle of Inishmore had been due to run between Pembroke Dock and Rosslare. Another vessel, the Ulysses, which was due to go from Holyhead to Dublin, also remained in dock.

Irish Ferries said the workers were there to familiarise themselves with the vessel and their roles and the security personnel were put there to ensure the continued access of company staff and port officials.

Norrie McVicar, of the International Transport Federation, complained because officials of the National Union of Marine, Aviation and Shipping Transport Officers (Numast) were not allowed on board at Pembroke Dock. Some crew had asked for union help.

Mr McVicar said about 15 crew were barricaded on each ferry in Holyhead and Pembroke Dock.

The firm has told passengers the dispute may go on until Monday

Unions said the existing staff were upset by the manner of the security guards' appearance.

They said the men had boarded in Ireland as passengers, but had then changed into their uniforms in the toilets as the vessel approached Wales.

Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern described the company's approach as "a retrograde step".

"This is not in line with Irish industrial relations, they are trying to turn back the clock," said Mr Ahern.

"About everything that they have done in their handling of this I fundamentally and totally disagree with."

"We have a duty and responsibility to protect our assets" - Alf McGrath, Irish Ferries

Irish Ferries has said it had been completely open about what it was doing over bringing in new crews as part of a cost-cutting exercise. It said it was justified in employing security staff.

Spokesman Alf McGrath said: "The security measures were necessary because in December of last year Siptu (Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union) staged two strikes... and totally locked up the ship in Holyhead and would not allow regulatory agencies or any management on to the ship.

"So we have a duty and responsibility to protect our assets."

Bob Carrick, general secretary of the Seaman's Union of Ireland, said up to 90% of the crew had agreed to voluntary redundancy terms which had allowed the firm to bring in new workers.

But Mr Carrick said the wishes of the remainder to keep their jobs and terms of conditions should be respected.

He said: "That's not a choice, if somebody says you can keep your job but we're going to slash your wages in half."

Around 70 crew members are thought to be on board the Isle of Inishmore. Police said they were keeping a minimal presence at the port in Pembroke.

Irish Ferries has told passengers it does not expect services to resume until Monday.

A spokesman said there were "no plans for formal talks between the management and workforce, but managers are represented on both ferries and so there is the possibility of dialogue".

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BBC News: 27 November 2005

Workers at South Eastern Trains (SET) are to stage a one-day strike on Monday 5 December in protest at plans to reduce booking office staff. South Eastern Trains has 178 stations, not all of them manned.

Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) will walk out for 24 hours after backing industrial action by eight to one.

The union claims 100 jobs could be lost if booking office staff are replaced with machines and opening hours cut.

SET has insisted there will be no job cuts and staff will be redeployed.

"Thousands of passengers have objected to these plans and we are asking them to support our members" - Bob Crow, RMT general secretary

South Eastern Trains runs services from London to Kent and parts of East Sussex.

It has 178 railway stations, not all of which are manned.

It wants to reduce some ticket office opening hours at its stations, or close them altogether.

But RMT general secretary Bob Crow has said the plans were a "massive attack on jobs and services" and would leave stations severely understaffed for long periods.

'Talks in progress'

"Thousands of passengers have objected to these plans and we are asking them to support our members as they take action to defend their jobs and the services they provide," he said.

Earlier this month, the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) also voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action.

A spokeswoman told the BBC News website on Sunday that the TSSA had no plans to strike at the present time, and was still in negotiations with SET.

"We are optimistic that talks are progressing in the right direction."

However, she added that the TSSA was still keeping options for a strike open.

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Further to previous reports, French rail union, SUD-Rail offers a balanced assessment of the outcome of last week's French national rail strike, the subject of their latest strike bulletin, 'La grève' - The strike - N°8, 24 November 2005, translated in English below and available in the original French here from SUD-rail's website.

The strike

Some results from the first day...

We were under the fire of reality

It took the head of state 15 days to realise that the suburbs were on fire ... but he realised on day one that railworkers were taking part in a renewable strike. He immediately enlisted the media to encourage a return to work.

Gallois [SNCF Chairman] came up with nothing for a whole year, he conducted fake negotiations during the notice period for the strike, he declares that nothing is possible, announces the spreading of the iDTGV [iDTGV [SNCF’s separate satellite company providing Online Ticket Sales] scheme, presents an industrial plan which sectorises our grades and surrenders the idea of public service ... and then he calls the trade unions together on the first day of the dispute! That has never been seen before. Even better: he starts real negotiations.

The media closely scrutinised our action and reported the exact opposite of what really happened: to start with, our demands did not justify striking: by the end of the negotiations SNCF had given everything away and the strike was declared over; now they say we didn’t win anything and all the effort was for nothing... Never have we undergone such media pressure.

The effectiveness of the renewable strike

A mere one day of all-out, renewable strike won more than all of the preceding limited, one-day strikes.

For more than a year, SUD-rail has argued that repeated 24 hour strikes would not be enough. Respectful of essential trade-union unity, we took part in them. We are pleased with the call from 4 trade unions for a renewable strike

The renewable strike allowed us to win real though limited gains.

Beyond the specific demands of certain grades, every railworker is satisfied with:

- the doubling of the operating bonus, at least an additional €120 per employee. Everyone will be able to see the exact amount by looking at their payslip for June 2005.
- additional recruitment, whereas SNCF did not want to even carry out the recruitment that it had provided for in 2005, and the re-staffing of railway stations.
- a breach in the policy of sectorisation and subsidiarisation: iDTGV [SNCF’s separate satellite company providing Online Ticket Services] is being brought back into SNCF, which SUD-rail demanded and demonstrated for in Marseilles and South-eastern Paris... This breach must now be widened to include EFFIA [SNCF’s separate satellite company providing Welcome Hosts/Customer Care Services], Freight... and all the subsidiary companies.

But every railworker understands realistically that action still remains necessary.

With the freezing of reorganisation we have gained only 6 months to a year. Privatisation continues, in spite of the soporific remarks of [President] Chirac and [Minister for Transport] Perben.
We won some quick gains, but action remains necessary to change the policy of SNCF, the government and Europe.

What action is needed today?

Some General Assemblies of railworkers carried on the strike, but many decided to stop.

Railworkers underwent enormous pressures that not previously experienced: the deliberate manipulation of the statistics of the numbers of railworkers on strike, the media steamroller, the aggressiveness of some particularly zealous managers relaying Gallois’s message and going so far as to individually threaten certain strikers... and with the existence of a split between trade unions, some of them even going as far as denouncing the strike!

With realism we note and acknowledge this majority return to work decision democratically taken in General Assemblies... and remain mobilised

We take note of the gains we have won... and we are confident for the future because a majority of railworkers now know the proof of the pudding is in the eating: the renewable strike, the maximum unity possible, preparation in all workplaces and offices...

Our dispute goes on because the demands remain.

The retreat by management on 22 November does not meet all of our requirements.
- Restructuring and management by activity [sectorisation] are still there, a breathing space of a few months only was granted,
- The wage increase of 0,3% from January 1 remains on the lower side of our demands: we require a wage increase of 250 Euros per month,
- 700 trainee drivers will only stabilise staffing levels until the end of 2005,
- 200 new posts are planned for ESCALE – we will have to take care that employment is with permanent contracts of employment.
- 350 new posts within the Engineering department had already been foreseen following the Infrastructure audit, which will still not prevent a reduction in the department
- Closure of ticket offices has not stopped and much remains to be done for the whole of the clerical/retail grade.

Despite headline announcements, their will still be a large fall in the numbers of jobs in 2006

The renewable strike, will still be needed to counter the policies of business and privatisation which, although they deny it, the Government and Gallois are pushing forward sometimes in a creeping fashion and sometimes at a gallop.

Creeping privatisation, as its name suggests, disguises itself and advances slowly:
- it conceals itself while transferring railworkers to subsidiary companies. It is seen in the example of the new subsidiary companies managing Internet ticket sales [iDTGV] and passenger reception in stations [EFFIA]... removing thousands of clerical jobs
- it advances slowly: SNCF swears to us that such subsidiary companies will remain in the group... then they are privatised, like Sernam [Parcels delivery service], the telecoms network, the SHEM [Hydro-electric generating plants recently sold by SNCF]...

Galloping privatisation from one day to the next passes to the private sector guarrenteed, core railway activities:
- As is already the case with the Permanent Way maintenance. And Transport Minister, Perben who denies any privatisation of SNCF, is preparing a law to transfer maintenance of new lines to the private sector.
- As is the case with freight, when an SNCF train is transferred to the private sector.
- As risks being the case with the TER [Regional Train Services]: a European draft Regulation will encourage Regional Administrations to transfer, either to any private Operator whatsoever, or to the Operator with the lowest bid following invitations to tender.

No trade union disputes this.

Trade union division is not inevitable. We do not accept that certain trade unions, in particular CFTC and CFDT, during this conflict, should have gone so far in support for Gallois and the government.

The future of the public sector railway and of railworkers is too important not to reunite our ranks, by all means possible, all together, to use the effective weapon of the renewable strike, announced a long time in advance, prepared by debates in all workplaces and offices, announced to rail passengers by seeking their support to impose a true public service ethos delivered by a public sector company, the SNCF.

We won some considerable gains on the first day of the renewable strike in spite of trade union division, the enormous pressures of SNCF, the government and the media.

The railworkers have got something to say:
- to change the policy of the company, the government and Europe,
- to develop the public sector company SNCF by ensuring public service and regional planning,
- to improve jobs and to hire young people

In all workplaces, depots and offices we are preparing together to impose a trade union unity without fail and for the use of all, with the support of rail users, the weapon of the renewable strike.

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RMT: 27 November 2005

AROUND 100 members of Britain’s biggest rail union at South Eastern Trains will strike for 24 hours on Monday December 5 over the threat to 100 jobs and ticket-office services posed by plans to slash ticket-office opening hours and replace booking-office equipment with automated machines.

RMT members voted by a margin of eight to one to strike over the plans, which have also been opposed by thousands of SET passengers.

“The company has had fair warning that RMT members will not accept its plans to cut ticket-office opening hours and remove station staff, and our members have backed industrial action by a huge margin,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“SET’s plans amount to a massive attack on jobs and services which would leave stations severely understaffed or not staffed at all for long periods.

“The company is threatening to throw away the massive progress made in the two years since Connex was thrown off the franchise and it was returned to the public sector.

“Thousands of SET’s passengers have objected to these plans and we are asking them to support our members as they take action to defend their jobs and the services they provide.

“The company can avoid industrial action by heeding the overwhelming message that its passengers and workforce want to see more staff on stations, not fewer, and shelving these unnecessary cuts for good, Bob Crow said.

ends

Note to editors: Of the 100 RMT members balloted, 52 voted for strike action and 6 against

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TUC: 16 Nov 2005

Background
The Queen's speech, in May 2005, announced that the Government planned to introduce a compensation bill in a current session of parliament.

This was to have two aims. The first was to limit the work of claims management companies and the second was to 'clarify' the existing common law on negligence to make clear that blame would have to be established before a claim could be made.

It followed a Manifesto commitment, which stated 'We will ensure independent regulation of the legal profession, and greater competi-tion in the legal services market to ensure people get value for money. We will tackle the compensation culture - resisting invalid claims, but upholding people's rights'

In a speech three days after the Queen's speech, the Prime Minister stated ' The new Compensation Bill will do two things. It will limit the work of claims management companies or "claims farmers". Claims farmers capture claims and typically sell them on to solicitors, sometimes having already signed the consumer up for a package of insurance. Many claims farmers indulge in high-pressure selling and aggressive marketing including approaching vulnerable people in public places, such as hospitals. Many consumers have been misled into making claims where their cases are weak.

The Bill will also clarify the existing common law on negligence to make clear that there is no liability in negligence for untoward incidents that could not be avoided by taking reasonable care or exercising reasonable skill. Simple guidelines should be issued. Compliance should avoid legal action. This will send a strong signal and it will also reduce risk-averse behaviour by providing reassurance to those who may be concerned about possible litigation, such as volunteers, teachers and local authorities .'

The Bill

The Compensation Bill was published on 2nd November 2005. It proposes two things. The first is to introduce a clause (Clause 1), which states that:

'A court considering a claim in negligence may, in determining whether the defendant should have taken particular steps to meet the standard of care (whether by taking precaution against a risk or otherwise), have regard to whether a requirement to take these steps might -

a} prevent a desirable activity from being undertaken at all, to a particular extent or in a particular way, or

b} discourage persons from undertaking functions in connection with a desirable activity.'

The second proposal is to regulate claims management services. The legislation will create an offence of providing claims management services unless the person is authorised, exempted, or subject to a waiver by the regulator. There will be a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment for a breach of the offence.

The regulations will cover all claims management activities where they are carried out in the course of a business or for reward. However initially regulation will be targeted in those areas where the Government claims that there is most potential for consumer detriment. These are likely to be personal injury, criminal injury, employment, housing disrepair, and selling of financial products.

Exemptions will be available to persons already subject to regulations. This will mainly mean that lawyers will be exempt. The Government have also indicated that they are likely to give an exemption to trade unions and some voluntary organisations, however that is yet to be confirmed.

Regulation will be done through a separate regulator. The Government has indicated that there is a strong possibility of this being the Claims Standards Council, which has been set up by a number of claims management companies, and has no trade union involvement. The Department for Constitutional Affairs has already commissioned an assessment of their ability to carry out statutory regulation.

The Government believes that regulation will prevent some of the high-pressure tactics that have been used by some of the high profile claims management companies in the past. It is also likely to target inappropriate or aggressive advertising although, given that this is not made specific within the bill, any regulations in this area may fall foul of existing competition regulations. It is also likely that the regulator will seek to ensure that there are no attempts to encourage frivolous or non-existent claims.

The regulator will have the power to apply for an injunction restraining any organisation from providing a claims management service.

TUC View

Clause 1

The TUC is concerned that the provision on negligence means that the current common law (which is both clear and well established) will now have to be read in conjunction with this new provision. This will lead to a period of uncertainty. In addition the TUC is concerned that the proposed wording will mean that any worker injured in a 'desirable activity' will have to show a higher degree of negligence than a worker suffering the same injury in any other activity. It is unclear what constitutes a 'desirable activity'. It is likely to be interpreted by the courts as including areas such as school excursions, and volunteer work, but could also be interpreted as covering many public or essential services.

The Government has indicated that its intention is simply to clarify the existing law to make it clear that there is no liability and negligence for untoward incidents that could not be avoided by taking reasonable care or exercising reasonable skill. The TUC does not believe that the proposed wording within the bill does that. Instead the provision will lead to a two-tier civil compensation system with workers in occupations deemed a 'desirable activity' being denied access to the civil courts.

There have been indications that the proposed wording is meant to reflect the judgement in Tomlinson v Congleton BC, which looked at the issue of liability in a case where a youth seriously injured himself after diving into a lake where diving was prohibited. However there are at least two significant differences between the Bill and the judgement given in the Court of Appeal. The first is that this judgement referred to 'social value' and not 'social activity'. These are very different and the latter is much wider.

Secondly, the judgement was never intended to cover those who undertake an activity as part of their work. It related to those who choose to take risky activities. This was made quite clear in the judgement, where Lord Hoffman commented 'a duty to protect against obvious risks...exists only in cases where there is no genuine informed choice, as in the case of employees.' This clear distinction is not made in the Bill.

Whether any new legislation is necessary is highly doubtful. The Tomlinson judgement stands regardless of any legislation. In addition, the TUC has shown in its recent report 'The Compensation Myth' that there is no compensation culture within the UK. Personal injury claims are falling and the real scandal is the low levels of compensation awarded to those few workers who are successful.

The TUC therefore believes that the proposal for a clause intended to deter compensation claims is not only unnecessary, but does not even meet the aims the Government had claimed for it.

Claims Management Regulation

The TUC welcomes the regulation of a claims management industry. Over the past five years there has been a catalogue of abuses by 'claims farmers'. Some of these have been associated with companies that have since folded. However there are many others in the market who are clearly encouraging frivolous claims, taking a considerable proportion of settlements, or advertising aggressively within certain areas. This is particularly a problem within parts of the country formerly associated with mining or asbestos work.

However the TUC is concerned that there is no specific exemption for trade unions and the voluntary sector within the Bill. These bodies are set up to support workers or victims and do so not for commercial reasons, but to assist the claimant. There is good reason why trade unions, and the voluntary sector, should be specifically exempted from the legislation and that only commercial claims management companies should be targeted.

To do otherwise, would be potentially to allow any exemption to be removed by this, or a future government, without any further recourse to Parliament. Any regulation of trade unions could cover not only personal injury cases, but all union legal work, including taking cases for unfair dismissal or discrimination.

Next Steps

The bill has been introduced into the House of Lords. In addition to the discussions which will take place at the Committee stage, the Constitutional Affairs Committee has announced that it is conducting an inquiry into both the compensation culture and contingency fees to coincide with the introduction of the bill. The TUC has provided written evidence to this Committee. The TUC will be working to obtain the support of members of both houses of Parliament, and also with union law companies and others, to seek to ensure exemption for trade unions and the voluntary sector. In addition we will be seeking removal of, or amendment to, the clause attempting to 'clarify the existing law of negligence'.

Briefing document (1,500 words) issued 16 Nov 2005

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HSC: 24 November 2005

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) today published its tenth progress report on recommendations made following Public Inquiries into the Southall and Ladbroke Grove rail incidents and Joint Inquiry into Train Protection Systems.

Bill Callaghan, HSC chair, said: "The rail industry has risen to the challenge of implementing the recommendations that are now part of the framework for the continued improvement in railway safety. Of the total of 295 recommendations arising from the four Public Inquiry reports into rail safety, only four now remain to be completed."

The report, available on the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) website at www.hse.gov.uk/railways/railpublic4.pdf charts progress on the implementation of recommendations since HSC published its last report in September 2004. This will be the last progress report published by HSC before the transfer of rail safety regulatory responsibilities to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).

Bill Callaghan added: "The Office of Rail Regulation must ensure that the process of improving safety culture on the railways continues, and both the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and the Rail Safety and Standards Board - both created following recommendations by the rail Public Inquiries - will have key roles to play. In the meantime, HSC remains committed to maintaining health and safety on the railways."

As before, the recommendations have been grouped under eight themes: safety culture; infrastructure; investigations; organisations and standards; suppliers and contractors; training; train protection, and vehicle integrity, though those relating to infrastructure and safety culture were completed and reported on in previous updates.

Since the last progress report, the remaining 15 recommendations relating to investigations have been completed. The setting up of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, a major part of this theme, took longer than Lord Cullen envisaged because of the need to find parliamentary time for the development of the necessary legislation.

The remaining two recommendations relating to organisations and standards have been completed. They are being taken forward as part of the proposed Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations, which will implement the Railway Safety Directive.

Work to implement the last recommendation on the accreditation of safety critical suppliers continues; industry have presented draft proposals to HSE on an operational framework, the Railway Industry Supplier Approval Scheme, which forms a key element of supply chain management. The scheme is scheduled to be operational by January 2006.

The three remaining recommendations relating to training have been completed. Network Rail, as major employer of signallers on the network, intends to further develop and improve its competency management system for signallers and though HSC had decided it would not recommend a legislative approach to the licensing of train drivers and signallers, in March 2004 the EC published a draft Directive for the certification of train crews, which if adopted would be required to be implemented into UK law.

Of the remaining five recommendations under the train protection theme, a further two have been completed since the last progress report. Work is continuing on the remaining three recommendations. The National European Rail Traffic Management (ERTMS) Programme (NEP) 3 rd year progress report, published on 23 June 2005, reported good progress being made across industry in a number of areas in the development of ERTMS.

The last recommendation relating to vehicle integrity has been completed. Train operators have introduced improved arrangements for emergency evacuation, safety information and signage, training of staff, and provision of equipment. Additional standardised information for passengers will also help. A substantial programme of research and investigation is continuing. This is progressing more slowly than the Inquiries recommended, because the industry is taking a broader look at the issue than the strict terms of the recommendations demand, which appears a sensible approach for the longer term. The future development of European Technical Standards for Interoperability will influence and eventually determine standards in many of these areas.

Professor Uff and Lord Cullen, who respectively chaired the Public Inquiries into Southall and Ladbroke Grove and jointly the Inquiry into train protection systems, asked HSC to monitor implementation of the Inquiries recommendations. HSC has reported annually on progress since 2002. By 2004, 27 of the initial 295 recommendations remained to be implemented, and today’s report shows the progress on those.

Notes to editors

1. The Southall Rail Accident Inquiry Report by Professor John Uff QC FR Eng was published on 24 February 2000. It contained 93 recommendations on: driver training; operating rules; fault reporting; maintenance; regulation; vehicle design; research and development; automatic train protection; accident investigation and post-accident procedures. Work on all the recommendations is now regarded as complete.

2. The Joint Inquiry into Train Protection Systems was established shortly after the Ladbroke Grove crash and during the Southall Inquiry. It was not concerned with the facts of either crash, but with broader questions relating to train protection systems. The report, by Professor Uff and Lord Cullen, was published on 29 March 2001. It contained 39 recommendations covering: implementation of TPWS; introduction of the European Train Control System (ETCS); and further action to reduce the number of SPADS through defensive driving techniques and other management initiatives. The industry reports action on 37 recommendations is now complete. Action continues on two recommendations, relating to ETCS - the automatic train protection element of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). HSC has published separately its work on monitoring progress with this (see HSE website www.hse.gov.uk/railways/liveissues/tps.htm)

3. The Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry Part 1 Report was published on 19 June 2001. It contained 89 recommendations drawing lessons from the causes of the train crash. The recommendations cover driver management and training, signalling systems and signal sighting, crashworthiness and passenger protection, evacuation and escape. Industry reports that action on 88 recommendations is now regarded as complete. Action continues on the one remaining recommendation, relating to GSM-R as part of the ERTMS development.

4. The Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry Part 2 Report by Lord Cullen was published on 20 September 2001. It contained 74 recommendations, one of which required HSC to publish a report on compliance after six months, and regular reviews thereafter. The recommendations cover: use of contractors; establishing a Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and a Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB); railway safety cases; HSE; safety leadership and skills; accreditation and licensing. Industry reports that action on 73 recommendations is now regarded as complete. Action continues on one remaining recommendation relating to the industry scheme on the accreditation of suppliers. Annex 1 summarises progress on all four reports.

5. The first report showed that of the 295 recommendations, 179 were considered completed. The second report showed that of the remaining 116 recommendations, 37 were considered completed. The third report showed that of the remaining 79 recommendations, 52 were considered completed. Of the remaining four recommendations, action on three has continued beyond the dates suggested in the Public Inquiry reports, as well as one recommendation where no timeline was specified. The reasons for this delay include the technical complexity of introducing the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), which was not so advanced as the Public Inquiry was led to believe, and the amount of work that industry still has to complete in order to establish an approval scheme for the accreditation of suppliers.

6. Where HSC has accepted that adequate action has been taken to regard certain recommendations as completed, it does not mean that industry will not continue to take the issues forward, or indeed that HSE will not continue to monitor the position as part of its ongoing planned inspection work. Earlier progress reports can be found on the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/railways/information.htm. See also press releases C040-03 dated 5.8.03 www.hse.gov.uk/press/2003/c03040.htm and C053-02 dated 28.11.02 at www.hse.gov.uk/press/2002/c02053.htm

7. On 15 July 2004 the Secretary of State for Transport (SoS) published a White Paper The Future of Rail - White Paper CM 6233 setting out the outcomes from the Rail Review he announced in January 2004. HSC published its response to the White Paper on the same day – see press release C032-04 at www.hse.gov.uk/press/2004/c04032.htm. The SoS decided that the responsibility for rail safety regulation should be transferred from HSC/E to the new Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). Since primary legislation was required there is a transitional period in which the statutory responsibilities for health and safety on the railways remain with HSC/E. During the transitional period, and before the merger takes place (in early 2006), HSE is discussing with ORR how future progress on the rail Public Inquiry recommendations should be reported.

8. The report refers to Railtrack PLC (Railtrack) as the owner and operator of the network and infrastructure. Railtrack PLC was acquired by Network Rail Holdco Ltd and is known as Network Rail. All references in the report to what Railtrack is expected to do in the future should be construed as referring to Network Rail. It also refers to Railway Safety as the rail industry’s own safety body. Railway Safety’s functions are now the responsibility of the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), established on 1 April 2003. All references in this report to what Railway Safety is expected to do in the future should be construed as referring to RSSB.

Public enquiries

Call HSE's InfoLine, Tel: 0845 3450055, or write to: HSE InfoLine, Caerphilly Business Park, Caerphilly CF83 3GG.

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RailwayPeople.com: November 25th 2005

A journey from Germany to north west England awaits the first of 51 new class 185 Desiro trains built by Siemens for First TransPennine Express.

The £250m order will see the new vehicles rolled out from spring next year, with all the trains in service by early 2007. They have a top speed of 100mph, and come with air conditioning, inter city standard seating, security cameras, GPS-based passenger communication and full wheelchair access.

The first diesel version of Siemens’ electric Desiro design also has strong hill-climbing abilities, improved power, acceleration and reliability, and will run in three or six carriage formations.

The trains have been specifically designed for the TransPennine route, and will be the fourth new train fleet introduced by First Group to the UK since rail privatisation.

Speaking at the launch of the class 185 at Siemens’ base in Germany, Moir Lockhead, First Group Chief Executive, said: “We have developed an unrivalled track record for introducing new trains to rail franchises, to benefit millions of passengers on their daily journeys.”

Joern F Sens of Siemens added: “Issues like the specific requirement for driver training, and improvements regarding design resulting from tests were all incorporated into the train development in a spirit of understanding and co-operation, to create a train worthy of our clients.”

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Desmoines Register: November 27, 2005
By JEFF ECKHOFF - REGISTER STAFF WRITER

Engineer sued by railroad in train collision
A train wreck that caused an estimated $2 million in damage to some Fort Madison rail lines two weeks ago has pulled into a new station — federal court.

BNSF Railway Co. of Texas filed a lawsuit late last week that blames one of the railway's Iowa employees for a Nov. 10 slow-speed locomotive crash.

Documents filed in U.S. District Court in Des Moines allege that Gary Cordray, a railroad engineer who lives in Fort Madison, failed to stop at a signal and ended up on a collision course with another locomotive.

News accounts described a crash that punctured a 4,000-gallon diesel tank and caused damage to both locomotives and freight cars. An estimated 700 gallons of fuel spilled along a 1 1/2-mile section of the track, as did holiday popcorn tins and sneakers destined for Wal-Mart stores.

An Amtrak passenger train was delayed for several hours.

Three employees, including Cordray, suffered injuries that weren't life-threatening. Court papers say BNSF "sustained extensive damage to its locomotives, train cars, trackage, lading and road bed, and other property."

The railroad's lawsuit accuses Cordray of negligence for failing to follow proper regulations, since "obeyance of train signals is essential for the protection of the safety and lives of BNSF employees, the safety and lives of passengers on Amtrak trains" and the safety of "others in proximity to railroad tracks."

Cordray could not be reached for comment.

Court papers say the engineer hired a St. Louis attorney shortly after the collision.

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Germany Commits to Bridge to Denmark
The new German government under conservative Angela Merkel has committed itself work to build a 20km, €3bn bridge across the Fehmarn strait to Denmark. It would cut trip time between København and Hamburg from four and a half hours to two and a half hours. The Danish minister of transport expects to sign a treaty on this in January 2006, so that the bridge may open in 2015 or 2016.

European Business magazine reports on the prospective road/rail bridge between Denmark and Germany, but doubts whether there is real demand for such a link.

LILLIPUTIAN DENMARK IS GEARING up for a gargantuan project. The €4bn Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link would connect southern Denmark with northern Germany across a 20km stretch of the Baltic Sea. How do Danes and Germans consummate such a project? Slowly. Denmark, emboldened by its recent bridge-building and fi nancing experience, is taking the initiative. Germany is going along with some trepidation.

The new link could boost Danish-German traffic by 60% and spur highway development around the Baltic Sea

The project would be the third spoke of the “Hamburg-Copenhagen-Stockholm wheel”, which has Copenhagen as its hub. The other two spokes are the Great Belt Bridge, which connected Denmark’s Copenhagen and Jutland regions in 1998, and the Øresund Fixed Link that joined Copenhagen with southern Sweden’s Skåne region in 2000.

At present, traffic between Copenhagen and Germany is by ferry or via a 160km detour west to cross by the Great Belt and Jutland. Backers say the new link would signifi cantly speed transport through this corridor, boost traffi c by about 60%, and spur highway development around the Baltic Sea in not only Germany and Denmark but also Finland, Poland and Estonia.

German Prime Minister Gerhard Schröder and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed their support in March 2005, and the countries’ transport ministers have agreed in principle.

A final agreement may come early in 2006. Construction could start in 2008 and take eight to 10 years, with a likely opening date in 2015 or 2016.

Officials are hammering out a public-private funding formula for the project. Denmark has used state-guaranteed loans for the Great Belt and Øresund, and seems to be coaxing Germany to try a similar funding scheme for Fehmarn. A toll payback plan over 25 to 30 years has been discussed. Another option is a build, operate and transfer plan that would confer less public risk, more private money and higher interest payments. Danish link offi cial Peter Lundhus (MD of Sound & Belt Holding, whose Fehmarn Belt division works with the transport ministries) hopes a finance plan agreeable to both countries will be in place before the end of 2005.

The link is coming, for a number of reasons. EU supporters see this mammoth project as helping
to cement the Baltic Sea regional economy. The project would create an estimated 6,000 jobs for each year of construction. Brussels proposes to foot at least 20% of the overall cost; recent economic studies by the Danish government and a transport association factored in a 10% to 20% EU share, according to Lundhus. Danish business interests and officials on Lolland-Falster, the economically down-at-heel island through which the bridge and motor- way would pass, are singing the project’s praises. Danish transport minister Flemming Hansen has called the link an economic boon for the island, both countries and the Nordic region.

But in Germany, MPs on both left and right are sceptical, and in 2004, the Environment Ministry declared the area to be a nature conservation zone, which could hamper planning and construction. Concerns have been raised about how to fund supporting highway and rail infrastructure, which itself may cost €2bn.

“The need for the Fehmarn link has been taken for granted. What’s the vision behind it? A fixed link is just steel and concrete unless people decide what it is for exactly”

Although in Denmark things are quiet for now they may not stay that way. Communications consultant Ajs Dam expects a rush of questions about Fehmarn after a final agreement, which in terms of public opinion is like closing the barn door after the horse is out. Dam, who was a spokesman for the Øresund project, saw the same process unfold there. With Øresund, it has taken five years, but traffic volumes have built slowly to major levels, thus justifying that project in the public mind after years of media coverage questioning it.

Dam says: “The need for the Fehmarn link has been taken for granted. What’s the vision behind it? A fixed link is just steel and concrete unless people decide what it is for exactly.”

With such a vision, the inevitable bad news from any major building project – cost overruns, delays, budget deficits, allegations of environmental damage, disappointed bidders or lagging initial traffic – may be easier to bear.

SCOTT BERMAN

Danish Superharbour could be new Rotterdam
The proposed Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link offers an opportunity for Denmark to show off its renowned design acumen on a titanic scale. Two of Denmark’s award-winning young architects, Dane Bjarke Ingels, 30, and his partner, Julien De Smedt, a 29-year-old Belgian, of the Copenhagen firm PLOT, have a wildly ambitious yet unexpectedly logical plan.

They are advocating connecting the link to a man-made island harbour that, at more than 2 million square metres in size, would be the fi rst Danish landmark visible from space. The so-called Superharbour would focus all Denmark’s harbour capacity at one point in the Baltic Sea. The giant harbour would rival Rotterdam and be the tollbooth for the growing markets of Eastern Europe.

The harbour would also free up the waterfronts of Denmark’s 12 largest cities. The real estate is worth €20bn, the architects claim, and will spur prime residential development along tiny Denmark’s huge 7,000km of coastline.

The harbour’s estimated cost is €1bn – big plans for such a small country, to say the least. At this point, it remains on the drawing board. But the idea has generated “a lot of interest”, particularly in Denmark, according to De Smedt. A feasibility study would have to be commissioned and financed by Germany and/or Denmark, private organisations or the EU.

German and Danish officials prefer a bridge, with a tunnel the second choice, according to Peter Lundhus, a Danish bridge offi cial. As for Superharbour, he says: “Fine, if there is traffic enough to support it. This is not yet established.” Danish harbour directors agree that having one great central harbour makes sense, although each director naturally advocates his own harbour as the location, says De Smedt. He adds that a “long string of social, ecological, and economic reasons” all point to the logic of Superharbour. But whether logic will carry the day is another issue altogether.

The proposed Fehmarn strait bridge is part of the European Union's Trans-European Network System (TENS), which it anticipates will form the physical backbone of the internal market, which forces companies to operate Europe-wide.

Such an arrangement, of course, favours large corporations with larger production units which can swallow up small, local competitors with ease. This combination of policies has the effect of reducing the number of production and distribution centres within the EU, while concentrating and consolidating wealth and power of the Trans-National Corporations.

What is the project?

This project will involve the construction of a bridge, a tunnel, or both to form a fixed road and rail link spanning the 19-kilometre-wide Fehmarn Strait between Germany and Denmark, on the same route as the recently completed Øresund link between Denmark and Sweden (see Project 11).

What are its expected benefits?

The Fehmarn crossing is a key element in the completion of the main north-south route connecting central Europe and the Nordic countries. Once completed, it will attract passenger and freight traffic estimated at 2.8 million vehicles and 30 200 trains a year, helping to relieve congestion on the Great Belt route across Denmark.

The project is expected to stimulate economic development in the Baltic Sea region of Denmark and Germany, creating a cross-border area of economic development similar to that around Øresund.

Fehmarn belt: fixed link between Germany and Denmark

The Baltic Sea region will see a boost in passenger and freight traffic thanks to this new project currently under investigation.

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United Transportation Union (UTU): November 24, 2005

GM plant closings to affect rail jobs
Some railroads and rail employees will suffer a significant blow from the closing of 12 General Motors plants in the U.S. and Canada. Those plant closings could begin as early as 2006 and stretch into 2008.

Although it is too early to determine precisely how rail employment will be affected, Wall Street analysts have made preliminary predictions on how the GM plant closings may affect individual railroads. Employment impacts will differ by railroad, and be especially pronounced on specific routes.

CSX, Canadian National and Union Pacific stand to be big losers because of the GM plant closings. NS will lose slightly. BNSF will suffer the least negative impact.

Overall, say Wall Street analysts, the impact of the GM plant closings may not be severe because total auto production has been setting records.

However, the impact of GM plant closings could be quite severe on some railroads and specific rail routes, as well as on affected train & engine service pools. Other railroads -- including some losing GM traffic -- could wind up with increased auto business from GM competitors, but likely via other routes.

Predicting impacts among railroads and on their train and engine service employees gets tricky.

Independent rail analyst Tony Hatch observes, for example, that Chrysler, Ford and GM are big users of rail for finished autos and trucks from their North American assembly plants.

But foreign name-plate motor vehicle manufacturers exporting finished autos and trucks into the U.S. rely heavily on truckers from the ports. Yet, says Hatch, as foreign name-plate motor vehicle manufacturers build more U.S. assembly plants – as they already have in Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee -- rails are vying for the increased business.

For years, foreign name-plate motor vehicle manfacturers have been gaining market share at the expense of Chrysler, Ford and GM.

For those railroads and specific routes affected by the GM plant closings, the impact could be especially severe because plant closings mean an abrupt halt to motor vehicle and parts traffic, translating to sharply reduced demand for train crews.

The 12 GM plants earmarked to close are:

* Six assembly plants: Doraville, Ga.; Lansing, Mich.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Oshawa, Ont.; Moraine, Ohio; and Spring Hill, Tenn.

* Six parts plants: Flint, Mich., Lansing, Mich.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Portland, Ore.; St. Catherine’s, Ont.; and Ypsilanti, Mich.

Additionally, GM parts supplier Delphi, which is in bankruptcy and operates 45 parts-producing plants in North America, says it may close “dozens” of plants, but no closings yet have been approved by the bankruptcy court.

With motor vehicle parts – as opposed to finished autos and trucks -- the negative impact on railroads may be slight because truckers are the primary hauler of motor vehicle parts. By contrast, new automobiles and trucks comprise between 80-90 percent of total auto traffic for railroads, says the Wall Street firm of Bear Stearns.

According to the Association of American Railroads, Class I railroads in the U.S. annually haul some 1.7 million rail cars of motor vehicles and parts originating primarily at U.S. assembly plants, plus interchanged to them from Canadian and Mexican railroads.

Carloads of motor vehicle traffic and parts represent about 6.5 percent of total rail traffic. In terms of freight revenue, it is about 9 percent, making motor vehicles and parts traffic the railroads’ fourth largest revenue producer, says the AAR. Coal, chemicals and “mixed shipments” rank ahead of motor vehicles traffic in terms of revenue generation.

Bear Stearns says CSX, Canadian National and Union Pacific stand to lose the most as a result of the GM plant closings.

CSX serves three GM assembly plants – Doraville, Moraine and Spring Hill -- that will close. CSX also benefits from interchange traffic originating at two other GM assembly plants slated to close – Oklahoma City and Oshawa, Ont.

Canadian National, meanwhile, is GM’s biggest rail provider in Canada and serves the Oshawa, Ont., assembly plant slated for closure. The Oshawa assembly plant is the largest of GM assembly plants that will close, Bear Stearns says. CN subsidiaries Illinois Central and Grand Trunk Western also will be adversely affected.

Union Pacific, meanwhile, serves GM's Oklahoma City plant slated to close, and benefits from interchange traffic originating at GM assembly plants in Lansing and Ontario. The UP “originates all finished automotive volumes out of the West for GM,” Bear Stearns says.

BNSF Railway and Norfolk Southern are expected to suffer fewer negative effects from the GM plant closings.

BNSF has “essentially no” business from GM assembly plants, Bear Stearns says.

NS benefits from interchanges originating at only the GM Oklahoma City assembly plant and its only business with the Doraville plant is inbound delivery of parts, says Bear Stearns.

Bear Stearns did not evaluate the situation at Kansas City Southern.

Of the 1.7 million carloads of motor vehicles and parts hauled annually by railroads, NS hauls the most -- almost 570,000 carloads, says the AAR. Second is CSX with more than 490,000 carloads. UP is third with more than 410,000 carloads annually. BNSF hauls just over 100,000 carloads of motor vehicles and parts, and KCS fewer than 5,000 carloads. The AAR does not track Canadian railroad traffic in Canada.

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UnionSafe: 24 November 2005

SYDNEY -- A City Rail guard who investigated reports of a door being held open – and ended up knocked unconscious – was later told by management he did not do enough to “diffuse the situation.”

The 28-year-old went to investigate a door being held open at Birrong station, in Sydney's inner west, when four teenagers on the platform began to hurl abuse at him.

"I said, 'I'm not here to talk to you, it's something else'," he said.

When the abuse turned to threats of violence, he turned around, and one of the teenagers was in his face.

The next thing he knew, he was struggling to get up off the ground.

"We checked the security cameras later and one of them hit me from behind," he said.

The guard said he was told in a meeting with management he should have either waited until to check the door at the next station or gone through the train.

"I'm not going to presume that they're going to jump me," he said.

"And what if I waited and someone fell out - I'd get in trouble if I didn't check it out."

NSW secretary Nick Lewocki estimates there are at least two reported assaults on public transport workers each week.

Lewocki said the union had put the case to the State Government for increased penalties for assaulting public transport workers, and it would not be long until further action.

"It won't be long before we're going to stations and asking staff what they think of this," Lewocki said.

He said the spotlight needed to be thrown on what was a growing problem.

"We'd be saying it [penalties] be sign posted, advertised on TV, radio and in newspapers, and if someone is charged it should be publicised."

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International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF): 24 November 2005

In what appears to be a raid on its own ship Irish Ferries is believed to have hired security guards to throw the peacefully working captain and crew members off the ferry Isle of Inishmore in Pembroke, Wales. 

A number of the ship’s officers are now barricaded in the engine room. The extraordinary operation, the latest move by the company in an apparent campaign against the Irish trade union movement, began around 15:00 today. At least 15 security guards are reported to be involved.

David Cockroft, General Secretary of the ITF commented: “This is an astonishing move. It isn’t just an insult to Irish trade unionists and the country’s model of dialogue, but also spits in the eye of the Labour Court, which has barely finished ruling that the company should honour its agreement to keep crews on its domestic services until 2007.”

Barbara Kelly, Siptu press officer, can be contacted on telephone: +353(0)1  858 6300. Email:bkelly@siptu.ie or communications@siptu.ie

ENDS

For more information contact ITF press officer, Sam Dawson.
Direct line: + 44 (0)20 7940 9260.
Email: dawson_sam@itf.org.uk

International Transport Workers' Federation - ITF:
HEAD OFFICE
ITF House, 49 - 60 Borough Road, London SE1 1DS
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7403 2733
Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7375 7871
Email: mailto:mail@itf.org.uk
Web: www.itfglobal.org

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BBC News: 26 November 2005

Rail staff and firefighters have staged a protest against new Tube safety rules intended to replace those brought in after the 1987 King's Cross fire.

Protesters oppose changes to Tube safety rules

Organisers claimed up to 500 people turned out at the north London station.

Unions fear the changes would affect staffing levels, standards of training and fire-resistant buildings and other precautions in the current regulations.

London Underground said the changes, which put the onus on firms doing new tube building work, would cut red tape.

Dual regulations

But Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, said: "Without these enforceable minimum standards, operators will be invited to cut corners and compromise fire safety."

The Fire Brigades Union said the government had to "guarantee the same level of safety for the public, rail staff and emergency services" before making any changes.

However a spokesman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which is behind the new regulations, said: "Our overriding aim is to save more people from death and injury by reducing risk and preventing fires. As always safety is a high priority."

The spokesman said that as a compromise it would run the new and old regulations in tandem for six months next year, "in order to prove that the new system will work better than the old".

A total of 31 people died in the King's Cross disaster.

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The Scotsman: 26 Nov 2005
ALASTAIR DALTON, TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT

THE firm which maintains Scotland's rail network is failing to cope with bad weather and reduce track faults, unlike the rest of the UK, its regulator reported yesterday.

The rebuke to Network Rail follows both the owners of First ScotRail and the chairman of Strathclyde Passenger Transport criticising its performance in Scotland as "bottom of the league".

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) said Network Rail's contribution to train performance in Scotland "continues to cause concern".

It said delays caused by the firm between June and September remained significantly above target, but there were some signs of recovery. The ORR said these had increased in Scotland but reduced elsewhere.

It said Network Rail was having difficulty coping with extreme weather, but it had launched a major weatherproofing programme. The regulator also criticised the "disproportionate" delays caused by problems scheduling record numbers of coal trains.

Ron McAulay, Network Rail's director for Scotland, said: "Our performance is improving overall but it needs to improve further. We know what needs to be done and we are going to deliver."

He said performance had been improved where drainage had been improved, but there had been a big increase in delays caused by motorists driving through red lights on crossings, suicides and fires near tracks.

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BBC News: 26 November 2005

Nine people have been taken to hospital after a train derailed following a landslip near Inverness.

Passengers praised staff for their handling of the situation

They suffered minor injuries when the Edinburgh-bound train hit debris at Moy and the front carriage left the tracks at about 0720 GMT.

Passengers described scenes of panic as the lights went out and they were thrown into the air. The injured were airlifted to hospital by the RAF.

Network Rail said a thaw following a big freeze had caused the landslip.

There were 94 people on board the 0648 GMT First ScotRail service from Inverness which came to a stop near a river.

"With the bad weather we've had over the last 24 hours, we've had a landslip which has brought a lot of debris down onto the railway line" - Ron McAulay, Network Rail

Northern Constabulary said the casualties had been taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for treatment.

The driver, who was among the injured, was able to walk to a nearby road and raise the alarm.

The injured included a person with suspected back injuries, a pregnant woman and a mother and child, an RAF spokesman said.

The remaining passengers were walked to safety and alternative travel arrangements were made for them.

'Lot of screaming'

Passenger Sean White, from Inverness, told the BBC Scotland news website: "I was going to Edinburgh to do Christmas shopping.

"We had just stopped all of a sudden. It was horrible, scary."

Michael Nicol, 26, from Inverness, who was travelling to Edinburgh for the Scotland and All Blacks rugby match, said: "We were forced into the air and I hit my stomach against the table.

"The carriage tilted over to its right and we eventually came to a halt.

"There was a lot of screaming as people were being thrown out of their seats."

Carol Gardner, 43, from Inverness, said: "It was quite frightening. The conductor was thrown up and hit the ceiling."

Karen Kurylak, 27, from Forres, told the website she had been on her way to Edinburgh with friends.

She said: "I was in the second carriage and we felt a bump, like we had hit a deer. The lights went out and the train came to a halt."

Ms Kurylak praised train staff and emergency personnel for their handling of the situation.

She said: "The train staff did a really good job of looking after everybody.

Paying tribute to the driver she said: "He had been injured but he just wanted to make sure that we were okay."

'Broken nose'

Speaking at the scene, BBC Scotland reporter Craig Anderson said the front carriage of the train was derailed but was still upright.

He said: "All of the people have been taken off the train and nine of them have been airlifted by helicopter.

"We understand that all of the injuries are minor, the worst that we know of at this stage is the driver, who has a broken nose.

Network Rail's Director for Scotland, Ron McAulay, said: "With the bad weather we've had over the last 24 hours, we've had a landslip which has brought a lot of debris down onto the railway line.

"The train here has come along this morning and ploughed basically straight into it and derailed as a result.

The incident has led to the closure of the rail route

"We will investigate this incident to find out exactly what's led to the landslip. But it's a very very clear cut case of the rain, the snow melt.

"All these kind of conditions have contributed to a piece of earth basically slipping out of the embankment and coming down to the railway"

Mr McAulay said the line could be closed until possibly Monday. Lifting gear was being brought in and the derailed carriage would be decoupled from the unaffected carriages.

An examination of the track would then be carried out.

"All of that work takes a lot of time," said Mr McAulay.

"There's a lot of effort that goes into that. I would have thought that we should have the line open by Monday morning, perhaps earlier but I don't want to be too optimistic."

First ScotRail said the uninjured passengers had been taken back to Inverness and "alternative transport has been arranged to take them to their onward destinations".

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RMT November round up of pay information from around the country.

Circular NP/018/05/AG

24th November 2005

TO: ALL BRANCHES, REGIONAL COUNCILS & REGIONAL ORGANISERS

RMT PAY BULLETIN- NOVEMBER 2005

October 2005 retail prices index rate: 2.5%
This is down from 2.7% for September. Figures for November are available on 13th December 2005.

September 2005 average earnings: 3.2%
This is down from 3.5% for August. Figures for October are available on 14th December 2005.

The average earnings index measures changes in gross earnings per person, based on survey returns from around 8,500 employers. It includes basic pay, overtime, shift payments, bonuses and profit-related pay.

Full-time Average Weekly Earnings by Occupation
Labour Research has recently published an analysis of average full-time weekly earnings based upon the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2004 (up-rated).

Occupation/Sector Weekly Wage
All workers 532.20
All male 586.90
All female 442.90
Managers 797.00
Professionals 708.10
Associate Professionals* 567.60
Admin & Secretarial 365.90
Skilled/craft 448.10
Services** 305.20
Sales 307.10
Operatives 402.40
Other manual jobs*** 324.00

* Associate professionals includes technicians, nurses, police, firefighters, media/PR workers, train drivers, legal and finance workers and sales reps
** Services means personal service occupations such as care workers, travel assistants, hairdressers, caretakers
*** Other manual jobs includes farm workers, labourers, dockers, postal workers, porters, waiters and cleaners

Recent non-RMT settlements:

• The average pay settlement for the 3 months to October 2005 was 3%. This measures the increase to basic pay only, excluding bonuses or lump sum payments etc.
• The Agenda for Change programme has delivered a minimum rate of £11,494 in the NHS. The grades covered by this rate include Catering Assistants, Domestic Assistants, Porters, Drivers and Telephonists.

Company /Sector Award Effective From
Lothian Buses, Edinburgh (‘arms length’ company owned by local councils) 12% over 2yrs delivering a Drivers rate of £9.50ph by March 2007 December 05

Demolition Industry 2yr deal
Yr 1 5.5% (delivering an hourly rate for a basic labourer of £6.68)
Yr 2 5.5%
July 05
July 06
First Bus Drivers, Edinburgh 10.1% over 2yrs
Yr 1 increase delivers rate of £8ph,
Yr 2 delivers rate of £8.25ph
April 05
April 06
BOC industrial gas manufacturer 2yr deal
Yr 1 5.45% (delivering hourly rate of £11.60)
Yr 2 3.45%
June 05

June 06
Heinz 2yr deal
Yr 1 4.25%
Yr 2 3.75% or RPI + 0.5%
May 05
May 06
Retail Co-op 4.2% October 05
Leyland Trucks 3rd yr, 3-yr deal
4%
September 05
Tesco Distribution 2yr deal
Yr 4%
Yr 2 RPI + 0.5%
36 ½ hr wk
July 05
July 06
EDF Networks 4% April 05
Scottish Power 2yr deal
Yr1 3.8%
Yr 2 RPI + performance
April 05
April 06
News International 3rd yr, 3yr deal
3.45%
July 05
Unilever 2nd yr, 2yr deal
3.45% April 05
Morrisons 3.2% August 05
Guardian Newspaper 3.2% April 05
HMV 3% July 05
Royal Mail Administrative Staff 3% or £550 whichever is greater, delivering a minimum rate of £13,550 April 05
Jaguar 2nd yr, 2yr deal
3% November 05
Police 3% delivering a starting salary of £20,397 and £22,770 after initial training
Combined London Weightings now worth £6,333 September 05

Recent RMT settlements:

Company Award Effective From
Bus
First Hants & Dorset Established Drivers basic rate increased to £6.75ph, £7.79ph overtime and £0.83ph unsocial hours payment
Those with less than 2yrs service to receive a Starter rate of £6.20ph, £7.20ph overtime and £0.80ph unsocial hours payment April 05
First Somerset & Avon 2yr deal
Yr 1 3.85% delivering a Drivers rate of £6.75ph, overtime at £7.79ph and unsocial hours £0.83ph
Yr 2 RPI + 1%
March 05

March 06
Cleaners
ISS (Virgin Cross Country contract) 3.6% April 05
Infrastructure
Grant Rail 3.2% April 05
Road Transport
Exel Logistics Sheffield (IMI contract) 3.25%
Increase of £40 on the Christmas bonus
Improvement to the Night Out Allowance June 05
Shipping
Stena Line Seafarers and Shore-based 2nd yr, 2yr deal
3.2% (includes 0.5% in recognition of meeting 2005 budgetary targets)
November 05
Train Operators
Central Trains 3.6% or £600 whichever is greater
3.6% on allowances
Introduction of Government Childcare Voucher Scheme via salary sacrifice
Extension of Central Trains Travel Concession Scheme for retired employees
Joint agreement on absenteeism April 05
C2C 2yr deal
Yr 1 3.3% or £550 whichever is greater
Yr 2 3% or RPI+ 0.5% or whichever is greater
July 05
July 06
First Great Western (excluding Drivers) 4% or £650 whichever is greater
London Weightings increase to Inner £1,940, Outer £873, South East £416
Fleet On-Call allowance increases to £1,350 per annum
Platform grades Night allowance increases to £731 per annum May 05
Silverlink 2yr deal
Yr 1 3.4% or £575 whichever is greater
3.4% on allowances
Yr 2 2.9% or £575 whichever is greater
April 05

April 06
South Eastern Trains Conductors 4%
Deduction of £20 per rostered shift for the first dour days of sickness. Should the sickness period extend beyond 28 days, this will be reimbursed
JWP on Conductors restructuring to begin before end October 2005 September 05

Rates of pay in the road transport industry
Incomes Data Services surveyed rates of pay and conditions of service at 123 road transport companies. Half the respondents reported recruitment and retention problems and had improved wages and conditions in an attempt to alleviate this.

It found that the median basic working week for Drivers is 40 hours with 1 in 7 companies operate a 48 hour week. Average weekly pay (excluding bonuses and shift payments) is as follows:

Grade Weekly Pay
Van Driver £284.82
Warehouse Worker £292
Vehicle Fitter £390.16

No information was provided here for LGV Drivers. However, average hourly rates of pay as well as the upper quartile range for each grade, are displayed below:

Grade Average Upper quartile
Van Driver 6.57 6.70
LGV (Category C) Driver 7.14 7.56
LGV (Category C&E) Drivers 7.52 8.03
Warehouse employees 6.78 7.50
Vehicle Fitters 8.77 9.50

Increase in property prices
The RMT includes an evaluation of changes in the property market in our pay submissions as evidence of the steep increase in cost of living. Contrary to some media reports, house prices are still increasing.

According to the Land Registry, property prices increased by 3.52% in England and Wales in the last year (July – September 2005 measured against the same period in 2004). The average property is now a massive £194,589.

The Scottish Executive has revealed that properties in Scotland have increased by 7.6% in the last three months alone and the average cost of a home across the country is now £126,538.

Increase in Council Tax
The RMT has identified that in recent years the increase in Council Tax has far exceeded the rate of inflation. In England and Wales Council Tax has increased by an incredible 121% since it was introduced in April 1993; this is four times the rate of inflation over the same period and in October 2005 the Halifax mortgage lender found that the average bill is now more than £1,000.
In Scotland Council Tax bills have increased 101% since it was introduced in April 2003 which is equivalent to almost 3 times the rate of inflation. The Bank of Scotland records that the average Council Tax bill is now £925.

Predicted rate of inflation over the next year
Published by Incomes Data Services ahead of the announcement of the October RPI figure, the table below illustrates how the top City-based economists expect inflation to develop over the coming months. The average monthly figure slows 2.3% over the next few months before decelerating further and remaining at around 2% for the majority of 2006.

2005 Predicted rate of inflation
November 2.4
December 2.3
2006
January 2.3
February 2.3
March 2.1
April 2.1
May 2.1
June 2.0
July 1.9
August 1.9
September 2.0
October 2.1
November 2.1
December 2.1

Excess in the transport industry
Information recently published by the Labour Research Department revealed that Jarvis Directors Tony Cunningham and Andrew Sutton received ‘golden handshakes’ in 2005 of £412,000 and £160,000 respectively.

Yours sincerely,


Bob Crow
General Secretary

Posted on 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Independent online: 23 November 2005
By Michael Harrison, Business Editor

Network Rail plunged deeper into the red in the first half of the year after a sharp rise in borrowings at the state-controlled infrastructure operator.

Losses for the six-month period to the end of September rose from £8m to £108m after a £153m increase in the company's interest payments. This followed a £3bn increase in the company's net debts from £13.9bn to £16.8bn.

The RMT rail union claimed if Network Rail was taken fully into public ownership then it could save £650m a year through lower interest charges and bringing track renewal work in-house.

But John Armitt, Network Rail's chief executive, rejected the union's figures, saying interest charges would fall only by a fraction under public ownership because it could already borrow more cheaply than almost anyone except the Government. It issued an £870m bond last week at the same interest rate as the European Investment Bank pays. Mr Armitt also said although debts were climbing, borrowings were not as high as forecast. They had been scheduled to hit £18bn by now and peak at £22bn in 2008-9 but will now reach £20bn.

Operating expenditure, including maintenance spending, fell £100m, keeping Network Rail on course to achieve the 31 per cent efficiency target set by the Rail Regulator, while investment in the railways reached £1.4bn. Punctuality on a moving annual basis reached 85 per cent in September compared with 81.8 per cent a year earlier.

Network Rail's revenues will rise by £2bn next year when its government grant increases. Mr Armitt said it would then have to decide whether to use the surplus to pay off debt or expand capacity.

Network Rail plunged deeper into the red in the first half of the year after a sharp rise in borrowings at the state-controlled infrastructure operator.

Losses for the six-month period to the end of September rose from £8m to £108m after a £153m increase in the company's interest payments. This followed a £3bn increase in the company's net debts from £13.9bn to £16.8bn.

The RMT rail union claimed if Network Rail was taken fully into public ownership then it could save £650m a year through lower interest charges and bringing track renewal work in-house.

But John Armitt, Network Rail's chief executive, rejected the union's figures, saying interest charges would fall only by a fraction under public ownership because it could already borrow more cheaply than almost anyone except the Government. It issued an £870m bond last week at the same interest rate as the European Investment Bank pays. Mr Armitt also said although debts were climbing, borrowings were not as high as forecast. They had been scheduled to hit £18bn by now and peak at £22bn in 2008-9 but will now reach £20bn.

Operating expenditure, including maintenance spending, fell £100m, keeping Network Rail on course to achieve the 31 per cent efficiency target set by the Rail Regulator, while investment in the railways reached £1.4bn. Punctuality on a moving annual basis reached 85 per cent in September compared with 81.8 per cent a year earlier.

Network Rail's revenues will rise by £2bn next year when its government grant increases. Mr Armitt said it would then have to decide whether to use the surplus to pay off debt or expand capacity.

Posted on 08:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Guardian: November 25, 2005
Terry Macalister

Network Rail, the train track operator, admitted yesterday that its debts had reached almost £17bn - the same level that is pushing oil-rich Nigeria to default with its foreign creditors.

The not-for-dividend company, established by the government to replace Railtrack, spent £466m in the six months to September 30 just paying the interest on its mountain of debt.

This left it making a £108m loss before tax in the first half of its financial year, compared with an £8m deficit during the same period of 2004, although the company said there was nothing alarming about this. "The debt was always expected to increase through to 2008 as we invest more in the railway than we are currently receiving back in income," said Ron Henderson, the finance director.

The level of borrowing was £13.9bn a year ago but is tipped to reach £20bn before it starts to go down again. Money is being raised to pour into new track and signalling equipment across the rundown railway network.

About £1.4bn was spent on renewals and enhancements in the first half of the year alone, with spending on new track running at £800m annually.

John Armitt, chief executive, said this level of spending was having tangible results, with a 25% reduction in the number of broken rails in the first half to 75, "their lowest level ever".

The risk from signals being passed at danger had also fallen to historic lows, Network Rail said, while delays to trains caused by the network had fallen by 12% year on year. On average, 85.1% of trains arrived punctually in mid-September, compared with 81.8% at the same time last year, and Mr Armitt said the figure had hit the "magic number" of 90% already on many commuter routes.

The chairman, Ian McAllister, said the company's ability to raise high levels of debt was a cornerstone of building a successful transport system.

"It is now three years since Network Rail became responsible for the stewardship of the railway network. The company is very proud of the achievements that have been made in that time - making trains more punctual, the network progressively safer and more cost-efficient," he said.

Network Rail said it was also proud that it been able to expand freight traffic, with a positive effect on the environment. It was also able to take some credit for helping Britain with its energy shortage worries. The company has reactivated a major freight role for the picturesque Carlisle to Settle railway line - usually used for passenger journeys or one-off steam runs - by carrying much-needed coal to power stations. Up to six trains a day are using the historic Ribblehead viaduct on their journey to move power supplies from Scottish mines to stations such as Drax and Eggborough in Yorkshire.

The network operator also said it had developed a "magic ice" liquid to stop points and tracks freezing during the expected cold winter. It has been testing a different formula of de-icer in an effort to stop rails being hit by a heavy frost.

Posted on 08:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Reuters: Thu Nov 24, 2005

PARIS -- The latest rail worker strike in France has cost rail company SNCF between 20 and 30 million euros (24 to 35 million US dollars), its chairman Louis Gallois said on Thursday.

Four major French Trade Unions -- CGT, Sud Rail, FO, Fgaac -- representing 70 percent of staff and 90 percent of train drivers, organized the strike to express their fear over the company's part privatization and to call for better working conditions and higher pay.

The strike ended on Wednesday after negotiations, in which the SNCF offered staff a set of incentives to return to work, including a 120-euro (140-dollar) bonus, a salary increase and the hiring of 950 new staff.

French rail traffic returned to normal on Thursday after trade unions called off a nationwide strike which cost state railway company SNCF up to 30 million euros.

"It's over," SNCF Chairman Louis Gallois told France 2 television after a large majority of workers voted to end the strike over pay, pensions and concerns that the government will privatise the company.

The strike began on Monday evening and caused chaos for commuters, leaving only one in three regional high-speed trains running at its peak on Tuesday. By Thursday morning there were only isolated problems, Gallois said.

The unions welcomed an offer of an interim pay rise of 0.3 percent pending wage talks in January, and a promise that each employee will receive a bonus of at least 120 euros.

The conservative government and President Jacques Chirac, who pledged not to privatise SNCF, averted a prolonged strike which would have increased pressure on them following three weeks of rioting by youths in poor suburbs.

"We have not done the sums yet but it's strike that must have cost between 20 and 30 million euros," Gallois said.

The government has already faced warning strikes by hundreds of thousands of people this autumn over low pay, an unemployment rate of almost 10 percent and falling living standards.

The strike was also accompanied by a 36-hour strike on the Paris metro system, starting late on Tuesday, with 60 percent of trains in service.

Posted on 08:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Guardian Unlimited: November 24, 2005
Mark Tran

The rail infrastructure company Network Rail today said it had prepared for a bad winter by arming itself with a new "magic ice" liquid to stop points and tracks from freezing.

Commuters pack the platform on a wintry day at Northfields train station in west London. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty

With Britain facing its coldest winter in a decade, Network Rail has been testing a formula to deal with heavy frost.

Previous de-icers melted ice but then dripped off the rail or points, making it easier for ice to re-form. The new one melts ice and remains in place, forming a film to prevent further build-ups.

The de-icer - used for the first time in southern England when the current cold spell started last week - will be used across the country.

Network Rail has 20 de-icing trains, 32 snowploughs and a further 50 locomotives with ploughs to cope with heavy snow.

The company unveiled its new de-icer as it reported a £108m pre-tax loss for the six months to September 30, compared with last year's loss of £8m. Most of the loss stemmed from a £153m increase in interest charges after debt levels rose from £13.9bn to £16.8bn in the past year.

However, operating profit, which excludes interest payments made on its debts, improved slightly to £269m, compared with £257m a year ago.

Network Rail, which took over from Railtrack in 2002, also reported a "dramatic" reduction in delays. The company said an average of 85.1% of trains arrived punctually in mid-September, compared with 81.8% at the same point last year.

"We are pleased with the way things are going. We are meeting most of our targets and train performance continues to get better," said the company's chief executive, John Armitt.

Efficiency improvements, including closer scrutiny of the value of projects and the in-house running of rail maintenance, contributed to the higher operating profits, Network Rail reported.

The company, which is responsible for 21,250 miles of track, said it had spent £1.4bn on track renewals and improvements in the last six months. Key measures of safety problems, such as broken rails and signals passed at danger, stand at the lowest level ever recorded.

Mr Armitt said the company's priority was to keep on top of costs and to meet its performance and punctuality targets. But a severe winter could play havoc with train schedules.

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Daily Telegraph: 24/11/2005
By Stephen Seawright

Network Rail expects to report a profit next year after the company delivered a loss for the six months to September.

The interim loss of £110m compared to a break even position a year ago was due to higher finance costs as the company increased borrowing and lower profit from the sale of properties. Turnover was flat at £1.9billion.

Chief executive John Armitt said: "We will return to profit next year and we will continue to reduce costs as well.

"Revenue will go up by about £1billion."

However, the company made an operating profit of £275m, which measures earnings before financing costs of £466m. Last year’s half time operating profit was £263m.

Network Rail warned the pre-tax profit for the second half would be worse than the first six months because of seasonal factors and higher finance costs from more borrowing.

The company’s huge debt increased 17.6pc in the first half to £16.8billion to invest in improving the troubled rail network. The debt is expected to increase to around £20billion in the financial year ending March 2009.

"Although the debt levels are increasing they are increasing at a slower rate than we anticipated," said Mr Armitt.

Part of the reason for taking on more debt is because government grants have remained flat since 2004 and will only start rising next April, according to Network Rail.

Earlier this week the company raised another £825m of debt to be repaid in 25 years. “We are replacing some of the short term debt as well as increasing the total amount,” said Network Rail finance director Ron Henderson.

In mid-September the number of trains running on time was 85.1pc compared to 81.8pc a year earlier.

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Sharecast: 24 Nov 2005

LONDON - Not-for-profit rail network operator Network Rail more than lived up to its billing in the six months to September as losses jumped to £108m on the back of a £3bn jump in debts to £17bn.

The group, which took over the rail network when Railtrack went bust, reported an operating profit of £269m, but this was swamped by interest charges of £466m, a 50% rise on this time last year.

Chairman Ian McAllister defended the performance and the rising borrowings, saying the improvement in the network justified the additional expenditure.

'More trains are running on time and the condition of the railway assets is improving significantly,' he said.

Rail travellers will have to fork out more in higher fares to service the debts, analysts say, despite being hit with rises above inflation already.

Network Rail expects to report a profit next year after it receives an additional £1bn in passenger grants.

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RMT: 24 November 2005

RESTORING NETWORK Rail and all its infrastructure work to the public sector would save the taxpayer at least £650 million a year, Britain’s biggest rail union said today as the infrastructure giant revealed that its debt had grown to £16.8 billion.

RMT said that annual savings on interest charges could top £250 million if Network Rail was fully re-integrated in the public sector, and that bringing renewals work back in-house would save a further £400 million a year.

The union points to research by the Catalyst think-tank, which analysed the escalating costs of rail privatisation and the massive potential savings of full renationalisation (See notes).

“If the government ended the pretence that Network Rail was a private-sector company it would save the taxpayer £250 million a year in interest charges,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“Keeping up that pretence just to keep NR’s debts off the government’s balance sheet means that the organisation will continue to pay far more than it needs to service its debt and will only make the problem worse year on year.

“Bringing NR’s maintenance back in-house has already improved safety and efficiency and has helped improve train punctuality massively, but the experience has also shown that bringing renewals work back in-house too would bring a further £400 million annual saving.

“Acknowledging Network Rail as a public-sector organisation would also do away with the need for the Office of Rail Regulation and save the taxpayer another £14 million a year.

“Maintaining the charade is an exercise in government self-delusion that is costing the taxpayer millions and siphoning money that should be used to improve our railways into private financiers’ pockets,” Bob Crow said.

ends

Notes to editors - The Transport Select Committee has already recommended that the government take direct responsibility of Network Rail to reduce unnecessary borrowing costs and to impose proper democratic accountability.

The Catlyst Forum’s briefing, The Railways in a Third Term, analysed the potential savings of restoring Britain’s railways to public ownership. The section on Network Rail is extracted below. To read the full report go to http://www.catalystforum.org.uk/pdf/railways2.pdf

Extract from The railways in a Third Term, published by the Cataylst Forum

c) Network infrastructure

Network Rail was established by the government following the final debacle of Railtrack as a “public interest company” that would be better geared to social objectives and relieved of the need to pay dividends to private shareholders. Following the government’s 2004 rail review and the impending abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority, Network Rail is to take a stronger role in leading the industry, assuming responsibility for overall performance from April 2005.

There is no doubt that Network Rail is a major improvement on its predecessor. Investment has increased, performance is improving, and important steps such as bringing network maintenance back “in house” have brought us closer towards the integrated, strategically coordinated, and cost-effective railway that we need.

But this remains unfinished business. In legal and financial terms Network Rail remains a private monopoly, autonomous from government and dependent upon private finance for its investment. Whatever the merits of “public interest companies” and “mutual enterprises” in other areas of social provision, even their enthusiasts have questioned the applicability of such models to the maintenance, operation and development of the railway network. Because of the level of investment needed and the risks associated with it, the government has had to back the company with £21b in contingent loans, provoking controversy as to its “private sector” status for the purposes of national accounts.

And their remains confusion over Network Rail’s accountability and the extent to which it can be relied upon to act in the “public interest”. This has been dramatised by arguments over the role of the Rail Regulator – some have argued that there is no longer any need for independent economic regulation “to protect taxpayers from shareholders”, while the outgoing Regulator viewed Network Rail as a “monopoly provider” with its own corporate interests. What is clear is that, as the Transport Select Committee noted, the attempt to arbitrate this potential conflict is “inefficient and highly expensive”, with the regulator “duplicating the work of the company’s management” by undertaking “parallel exercises assessing renewals’ requirements of the rail infrastructure”.

For these reasons “it is being increasingly recognised that the whole pretence of NR being in the private sector is costing a lot of money and has led to a situation where it cannot be adequately policed”. The Transport Select Committee concluded that “it is time for the Government to cut through this tangle of responsibilities and take direct ownership of Network Rail on the grounds that a Railways Agency, incorporating the rail infrastructure, will ensure both the lowest borrowing costs to meet the necessary funding requirements and direct, democratic accountability”.

What would be involved in such a move?

* Network Rail’s current debts of £21b would be added to the government balance sheet, marking a one-off nominal increase in total public sector debt equivalent to 1.75 per cent of GDP – nominal because this is already widely regarded and treated as debt for which the government has already taken responsibility

* in 2003 it was calculated that bringing the rail infrastructure into the public sector and financing its investment by issuing gilts could have saved £80m in annual interest charges – a figure that was likely to increase as its debt increased. The latest figures show Network Rail’s annual interest payments running at around three times the level for 2002-3, suggesting that the saving could be as much as £250m a year

* reconstituting Network Rail as a public corporation would also have the effect of obviating the need for independent economic regulation. Abolition of the Office of Rail Regulation would save around £14m a year – running costs currently covered by a “license fee” paid by Network Rail

* a public corporation, owned by government and accountable to parliament, would be the best vehicle for achieving the overall focus and coordination of the industry envisaged for Network Rail under the government’s rail review

A first task for a publicly owned infrastructure company would be to address the fragmentation and cost-escalation set in train by privatisation by bringing track renewals back in-house. Already Network Rail has stopped contracting out maintenance work, calculating that £300m a year could be saved through improved coordination and no longer needing to meet contractors and subcontractors margins. The results have been impressive. The obvious next step is to reintegrate track renewals and enhancement, whose separation from “maintenance” is another artificial legacy of privatisation and makes up the majority of Network Rail’s annual expenditure. Even if costs were reduced by only half the proportion estimated for maintenance work, we could expect savings in the region of £400m a year or more.

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At its monthly branch meeting held on Wednesday, 23 November 2005, RMT Bristol Rail Branch unanimously supported a request from Train Driver members for a strike ballot in support of a union representative for Drivers employed by Wessex Trains at Par in Cornwall.

Bristol Rail Branch - 0224

Branch Secretary: Brendan Kelly,
91 Allison Avenue,
Broomhill,
Bristol BS4 4PD
Email: bristolrail@rmt.org.uk
Contact: 07815967675
Daytime number: 0117 9348986

Branch Chair: Robin White,
Contact: 07909834954

To: The General Secretary, RMT Union
Thursday, 24 November 2005

Dear General Secretary

REQUEST FOR STRIKE BALLOT – WESSEX TRAINS

The following resolution was carried unanimously at the meeting of Bristol Rail Branch held on 23 November, 2005. We request that you arrange for this resolution to be given urgent consideration.

"That this Bristol Rail RMT Branch notes with grave concern the dismissal by Wessex Trains of Driver Steve Howard, a member of the ASLE&F and LDC Drivers’ Representative at Par depot and the recent decision by Wessex management to uphold his dismissal at appeal. We believe that this decision is both draconian and totally unacceptable. We note that Bro. Howard’s colleagues at his home depot and at the majority of other Wessex Trains depots are appalled at the treatment he has received, being deprived of his livelihood after more than 25 years in the industry and are demanding a strike ballot in support of Bro. Howard’s full reinstatement in his position as Driver and an end to management harassment of a trade union representative.

"We call on the General Grades Committee of the Council of Executives to ballot RMT Driver members employed by Wessex Trains, with a clear recommendation to vote ‘Yes’ to strike action in support of Bro. Howard’s reinstatement and to co-ordinate the ballot and any future strike action with the ASLE&F."

Yours fraternally,

Brendan Kelly

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International Herald Tribune: NOVEMBER 24, 2005
By Don Phillips

AMSTERDAM - The French railway strike was brought on mostly by a series of small issues that began adding up and making railway workers uneasy about their privileged position in French working society.

Among the most often-voiced union complaints, according to public statements and railway officials, are that a European Union plan to introduce competition to the freight rail business will result in a loss of jobs and will pit the French system, SNCF, against private companies and other national systems. Also, union members and officials have expressed a fear that SNCF itself will go private.

Louis Gallois, head of SNCF, made many promises to the rail workers to get them to return to work Wednesday, not the least of which was a promise to begin a new push to increase freight volumes in the new year. A meeting will be held in December between the unions and management to map out a plan.

Gallois told them privatization will not happen. In the end the workers came back. But this issue is far from ended.

The true underlying reasons for the strike may well be that union members can see the handwriting on the wall as the EU steps up pressure to allow outside operators to run freight trains in France, and for freight to become profitable. They fear that the era of privilege and high employment may be ending, and they are on the edge of a disaster.

Will the process end with freight? Union members see clearly that railway overhauls in Germany - and especially in the United States - were devastating to labor.

In Germany, employment in the freight sector has dropped abruptly to 215,000 workers from 450,000 in less than two years, and Germany operates three times the freight tonnage of SNCF. Only about 15 percent of French freight now runs by rail.

In the United States, about 226,000 workers run a freight system that hauls far more freight than all of Europe, never mind France. That is down from 532,000 employees in 1980. In France, with about one-tenth of U.S. freight volume, 200,000 workers are directly employed by the railroad, and an additional 250,000 or more are employed by freight affiliates.

There is one big problem with the planned new push to gain freight. There will be no employment cuts, leaving the possibility that the effort will fail financially and run afoul of new EU rules. Already, union members can see things happening at the fringes that make them nervous.

Because of one section of the EU edict requiring freight service to meet financial goals, SNCF has begun taking actions that are considered ancient history on private rail systems in the United States but are new and disturbing to French workers.

For instance, freight traffic that is clearly unprofitable, and that outside consultants have told SNCF is not worth the trouble, is slowly being dropped from the system. The scores of freight yards, which once dotted the French landscape, with thousands of employees, are slowly being winnowed down to perhaps nine larger, more efficient yards.

Already, management is seeking to make a deal. When SNCF began closing freight yards, it offered buyouts to 3,000 workers in these outlying yards for whom there was no more work. This was about 20 percent of the employment of SNCF Freight.

In addition, small stations are being closed here and there. And the continuing migration of ticket buyers to the Internet leaves ticket agents with less to do.

When eventually France is forced to accept the inevitable and allow at least some freight competition, French railway workers understand that they will feel the pinch in other, more subtle ways.

Don Phillips can be reached at freeflow@iht.com.

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BBC News: 24 November 2005

A man accused of arson attacks on the rail network which cost an estimated £20m in repairs and compensation is due in court.

Former rail worker Alan David Nicol, 46, of Yardley, Birmingham, is charged with starting 12 fires.

He also faces 11 charges of aggravated criminal damage and obstruction on the rail network relating to a series of fires which started in 2004.

He is due to appear before magistrates in Birmingham.

Services halted

Mr Nicol was charged with arson with intent to endanger life in connection with a fire at a signal relay building in Rugeley, Staffordshire, on 3 November.

A signal substation was destroyed resulting in the cancellation of more than 100 services.

The charges of criminal damage relate to a series of incidents in the West Midlands throughout the summer of 2004 and more recently in 2005.

Earlier this month rail bosses offered £50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the fires.

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Daily Nation (Kenya): November 24, 2005
Story by ZEDDY SAMBU

A new law has been laid down to allow Kenya Railways to be privatised.

President Kibaki yesterday signed the Kenya Railways Corporation Amendment Act, 2005, into law, paving the way for South Africa's Sheltam Trade Close Corporation to run the cash-strapped parastatal on a concession basis. 

Sheltam, which recently won the tender, is a consortium of Comazar, Sheltam Rail, Prime Fuels, Mirambo Holdings and the CDIO Institute for Africa Development Trust.

The new law spells out how some 30 Kenya Railways employees are to be transferred to the concessionaire as well as the criteria for hiring others upon privatisation. 

It also gives legal backing to the proposed board to oversee the agreement with Sheltam. Board members must be approved by the Transport minister, who is also empowered to stipulate its terms of reference. 

"The agreement, which is subject to minister's approval, will specify the board's functions or powers, to be exercised by the appointed person(s) and those to remain the board's responsibility during the agreement," said a statement by the Presidential Press Service.

Dr Albert Muma, the legal adviser in the concessioning, said yesterday the signing, scheduled for early next month, could now go ahead. Experts had feared that the concessioning would be stalled by legal obstacles.

Past negotiations and agreements, Dr Muma said, had been based on the hope that the president would assent to the Bill before the signing on December 2. 

"We were operating on the basis that the Act would be signed before an agreement was reached, " he told the Nation by phone. 

Sheltam will now manage the state firm's core operations of along with the Uganda Railways Corporation for the next 25 years.

"The President’s approval will ensure improved management and enable the firm to provide better services to the public, " said the PPS statement 

Rules on how to hand over KR to the private investor were published at the end of October. Parliament then approved the proposals that sought to pave the way for participation by new investors in managing Kenya's rail transport services.

The amended Act now caters for the concessioning, which was approved by the Cabinet in 1998. Kenya Railways is being concessioned along with Uganda Railways Corporation, to be jointly renamed Rift Valley Railways. 

The about 6,000 Kenya Railways employees will be laid off when the private concessionee takes over in March. 

Recently, a senior Transport ministry official said the World Bank backed the proposed retrenchment. 

A Sh9.6 billion credit from the bank had been extended to finance the lay-off, set to begin after the contract is signed in December. 

The freight concession term will last 25 years for the entire 1,920km stretch. 

Only passenger services are to be leased out to the Kenyan side. KR has debts amounting to Sh20 billion and the Government is expected to shoulder some of it.

Privatisation is seen as the only way to revamp the two corporations, which have been run down by poor management. The new investor is expected rehabilitate the ageing equipment and speed up operations to attract clients who have resorted to using road and sea transport.

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Reuters: 22 November 2005
By Marie Maitre and William Emmanuel

EDF power selloff loses current as shares sag
PARIS - A bid by banks to prop up the newly floated shares of EDF failed to prevent the power giant's stock falling below its privatisation price on Tuesday, leaving retail buyers carrying losses amid claims they may have been duped.

The shares fell 3 percent below the 32-euro retail price at which they had languished during Monday's debut, dealing a potentially embarrassing blow to the government which had hailed the deal as a success for the five million people who took part.

Finance Minister Thierry Breton, who on Friday lauded the 7 billion euro share offering as a "formidable popular success" and linked it to Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's recent campaign of "economic patriotism", remained tight-lipped.

"I said everything I have to say on Friday. I never comment on share prices," he told reporters.

A record number of French people participated in the sale of 15 percent of EDF to buy shares in what is now Europe's largest listed utility as well as the world's leading atomic power firm.

But professional fund managers were less enthusiastic about the offer, saying EDF had been overpriced compared to Europe's number two utility E.ON of Germany and other rivals.

EDF shares closed down 3 percent at 31.05 euros.

As investors counted their losses, sources close to the deal confirmed that underwriting banks had been intervening to try to prop up the price, before retreating in the face of selling led by hedge funds seeking to profit from a fall in the stock.

"It's not impossible there has been some intervention to stabilise the price," said one person close to the deal.

The head of France's leading small shareholders lobby, ADAM, said many ordinary people had been unaware of the risks.

Colette Neuville, who has waged a series of high-profile battles on behalf of small investors, also criticised the dual role of banks which advise on an IPO and then market the shares.

"Only the future will tell if EDF retail investors were duped, but unfortunately it is probably the case," she told Reuters in an interview late on Monday, highlighting the often arcane language of IPO prospectuses.

HEDGE FUND PRESSURE

The price falls also meant losses for the underwriting banks involved in propping up the share price.

On paper these now exceed 50 million euros for Monday alone if they bought every share sold on the market at 32 euros.

However 140 million euros has been earmarked for the same banks in advisory fees, according to EDF's launch prospectus.

None of the underwriting banks -- BNP Paribas, Calyon, Rothschild-ABN AMRO and Morgan Stanley -- provided a comment.

While "price stabilisation" is allowed after a market debut, sources close to the operation said the underwriting banks had allowed the EDF share price to fall in part because flotation rules prohibit them from inflating the price artificially.

Furthermore, efforts to defend the stock had presented an open target to hedge funds who short-sell shares they do not yet own in order to try to buy them more cheaply at a profit.

"We're not here just so that hedge funds who go short than make money," said an official close to the banking syndicate. "Anyway there's no point in buying the whole issue at 32 euros."

Hedge funds saw victory as underwriters relaxed their grip.

"In my opinion they used up a lot of ammunition yesterday," said the manager of a hedge fund unit at a European bank.

Valerie Cazaban, head of Stratege Finance fund managers in Paris, predicted EDF could fall to 28 euros before rebounding as more stock comes onto the market from disaffected retail buyers.

Sources in the deal said most retail buyers had not thrown in the towel and started to sell just yet.

Yet with roughly one in five of the actively voting electorate now owning a loss-making investment in EDF, the government will be hoping its middle-class voter base is not disillusioned.

"It's a record percentage of disappointed people in the history of Paris privatisations," mocked satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine in its edition to be published on Wednesday.

Government sources pointed out the price had been set by a privatisation commission and argued that no one could accuse the state of flogging EDF too cheaply, as some had when sister utility Gaz de France leaped 23 percent on day one in July.

EDF's share debut comes at a delicate time for the conservative government as it wrestles with recent suburban violence, a rail strike caused by union fears of privatisation on the heels of EDF and a blip in consumer spending.

Opposition Socialists have pledged to renationalise the 59-year-old utility if they return to power in 2007 elections.

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SUD-Rail: 22 November 2005

We present the latest strike bulletin ('La greve No.7') from French railworkers' union SUD-Rail, analysing the outcome of Tuesday's 13th hour talks between the four unions who have called all out ('renewable') strike action on French railways against "creeping privatisation."

The strike

The railworkers on strike since 8.00 on Monday evening are right!

The management under the pressure of the strikers and fear of the notice of the renewable strike finally decided to start serious negotiations with the CGT, SUD-rail, FO and FGAAC trade-union federations at midday this Tuesday. After a five hour meeting the management made a statement of their conclusions. The collective strike action was what allowed progress on subjects, which it was not even possible to negotiate on until then.

Wages:

Manpower:

ID TGV:

Traction:

A freeze on numerous restructuring plans:

Operational Establishments:

Freight Plan:

SUD-rail federation notes that a united, renewable strike has allowed "real" negotiations under direct pressure from the strikers. What previously appeared "unrealistic" has become possible!

The government and SNCF management feared a social movement, which extends right across SNCF. That is the reason for this retreat, even if outstanding demands remain. The Minister, in particular, must respond to the letter from the CGT, SUD-rail, FO and FGAAC federations about privatisation and future of the railway as a public service. The regional and local management of SNCF must also apply themselves to the questions concerning their areas of responsibility, to put into reality commitments made at the national level negotiations by taking immediate steps, which together we will know how to hold them accountable for...

The freezing of several restructuring exercises, the progress on jobs, the future of the Traction department, general wage improvements, reintegration of ID TGV within SNCF all show that those who fight and who win gains for all are right!

SUD-Rail union teams invite the General Assemblies of railworkers to democratically decide the next step.

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Reuters: Wed Nov 23, 2005

PARIS - French rail traffic began to return to normal on Wednesday after a large majority of railway workers voted to end a nationwide strike that hit commuters.

A French commuter rides his bike on an empty platform in Nice station during a public transport strike November 22, 2005. A nationwide rail strike caused new delays for commuters in France on Wednesday but trade unions were set to end the stoppage after several hours of talks with the SNCF railway operator over pay and pensions. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

The strike, which began on Monday evening, has added to the troubles of France's conservative government as it struggles to deal with the aftermath of three weeks of rioting by youths in poor suburbs protesting against unemployment and discrimination.

After several hours of talks with the SNCF railway operator over pay, bonuses and pensions, as well as union concerns that the company will be privatised, the vast majority of workers voted to end the sixth strike to hit the SNCF this year.

"In my opinion, the traffic will practically be back to normal (on Thursday), except for a few local problems," said Eric Falempin for the Force Ouvriere trade union.

A separate strike began late on Tuesday on the Paris Metro but has not caused serious disruption.

"We took action, and that allowed us to have talks and to make advances on certain issues," Didier Le Reste, leader of the railway branch of the CGT union, told France Info radio.

SNCF chairman Louis Gallois has said the company has been losing about 20 million euros (13.7 million pounds) a day during the strike.

Trade union officials said they welcomed the company's offer of an interim pay rise of 0.3 percent pending wage talks in January, and to hand out premiums of at least 120 euros to each employee.

French rail traffic remained disrupted, although there were fewer cancellations than on Tuesday. By mid-afternoon, service was fully assured on trains to international destinations and 88 percent of high-speed TGV trains, SNCF said.

"I walked a large stretch of the way. It just takes longer," one commuter at a central Paris train station said.

A woman at St Lazare train station said she had slept less because of the strike. "I left very early today. It is really annoying," she said.

SNCF said traffic should be back to normal in the Paris region on Thursday morning.

President Jacques Chirac called on Tuesday for talks to end the stoppage, reiterating promises that SNCF would not be privatised. Unions fear privatisation will mean job losses.

The government has shown a clear desire to avoid serious labour unrest after being shaken by France's worst urban violence in almost 40 years, led by youths in poor suburbs.

The government has already faced warning strikes by hundreds of thousands of people this autumn over low pay, an unemployment rate of almost 10 percent and falling living standards.

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RMT: 23 November 2005

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST rail union will today (Wednesday November 23) call on the government to ensure that rail fares are pitched at levels that encourage people out of their cars and onto trains.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow is scheduled to give evidence this afternoon to the House of Commons’ Transport Select Committee’s inquiry into rail fares.

Studies published earlier this year by the union revealed that season tickets, travelcards and ‘walk-on’ rail fares on publicly owned railways in Europe tended to cost a fraction of comparable tickets in Britain.

“People in Britain are too often priced out of using the railways by operators more interested in generating profits from business passengers than providing a service for all,” Bob Crow said in advance of the hearing.

“Our own comparisons with fares on publicly owned railways elsewhere in Europe show just how far this has gone.

“Fares should also be easily understood, but the fragmentation of the industry means that operators offer a bewildering array of structures, and they appear designed more to confuse than enlighten.

“We need a fares and ticketing structure designed to encourage people out of their cars and onto trains and a joined-up transport policy capable of delivering extra capacity to cope with the extra demand.

“Our environment and economy need a growing railway, not a shrinking one, and we need to make rail the number-one choice.

“Bringing all train operations back in-house would not only result in a more coherent railway, but would also put a stop to the leakage of £1 billion of public money out of the industry every year,” Bob Crow said.

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RMT:: 23 November 2005

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST rail union today urged the government to harness its rail fares policy to encourage a shift from car to rail travel, and to honour its manifesto commitment to introduce a National Rail Card.

Giving evidence to the Transport Select Committee, RMT general secretary Bob Crow also urged the government to ensure that train-operating companies compensate passengers who were sold tickets at higher prices than should be the case.

The union’s submission to the committee, drawing on research by Professor Michael Blakemore of Durham University, showed that privatisation had resulted in standard fares and travelcards in Britain being far more expensive than elsewhere in Europe.

“The train-operating companies (TOCs) use their route monopolies to run a pricing policy which seeks to maximise revenues and profits, particularly from periods of high passenger demand,” Bob Crow said.

“Disturbingly the current pricing policy even treats children as economic occupiers rather than future rail travellers.

“Long gone are the British Rail days when the family rail card allowed children to travel for £2 return.

“As we approach the festive season, when families are struggling to find money for presents, it is unacceptable that, travelling between Newcastle and Bristol on December 21 and returning a week later, it can cost two children and two adults £172.

“As long as private-sector route monopolies remain unchecked, the government will struggle to meet manifesto commitments to deliver an integrated transport system.

“It is in the public interest for government to take closer control of fare and ticketing structures and policies operating on the UK rail network.

“This should include an immediate review to ensure that fares policy is geared to encourage a modal shift from road to rail, that TOCs compensate passengers who purchase tickets which are more expensive than should be the case

“The government should also honour its manifesto commitments and set a timetable for the introduction of a National Rail Card,” Bob Crow said.

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ePolitix: Wed, 23 Nov 2005
Craig Hoy

Rail: Policy must be more coherent says Crow
A prominent trade unionist has demanded  urgent action to reduce the cost of commuting on public transport.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow on Wednesday called for a reduction in rail fares in order to encourage drivers out of their cars.

"Fares should also be easily understood, but the fragmentation of the industry means that operators offer a bewildering array of structures, and they appear designed more to confuse than enlighten" -
Bob Crow

Comparing Britain unfavourably to its international competitors, Crow warned that public transport is significantly cheaper in other EU countries.

He also called for a "coherent" rail policy to reverse the decline in travel by train.

"Fares should also be easily understood, but the fragmentation of the industry means that operators offer a bewildering array of structures, and they appear designed more to confuse than enlighten," he said.

"Our environment and economy need a growing railway, not a shrinking one, and we need to make rail the number-one choice.

"Bringing all train operations back in-house would not only result in a more coherent railway, but would also put a stop to the leakage of £1bn of public money out of the industry every year."

The problem is particularly acute in London - where train and tube fares are set to rise further early next year.

Crow's comments come as he prepares to give evidence to a meeting of the Commons transport select committee.

"We need a fares and ticketing structure designed to encourage people out of their cars and on to trains and a joined-up transport policy capable of delivering extra capacity to cope with the extra demand," he said.

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ITN: 23 Nov 2005

The Government should cut train fares to encourage more people to leave their cars at home, the leader of Britain's biggest rail workers' union is expected to announce.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, is due before the Commons Transport Select Committee.

He will tell MPs fares on publicly owned railways in Europe are a fraction of those in this country.
article continues below

He will also say that fare structures are difficult to understand and should be made simpler.

Speaking ahead of his meeting Mr Crow said: "Fares should also be easily understood, but the fragmentation of the industry means that operators offer a bewildering array of structures, and they appear designed more to confuse than enlighten.

"We need a fares and ticketing structure designed to encourage people out of their cars and on to trains and a joined-up transport policy capable of delivering extra capacity to cope with the extra demand."

He added: "Our environment and economy need a growing railway, not a shrinking one, and we need to make rail the number-one choice.

"Bringing all train operations back in-house would not only result in a more coherent railway, but would also put a stop to the leakage of £1 billion of public money out of the industry every year."

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New York Daily News: November 22, 2005
BY PETE DONOHUE

NEW YORK -- The head of the transit workers union yesterday raised the spectre of a strike, calling bus and subway workers who recently walked off the job in Philadelphia an inspiration.

"We watched those negotiations very carefully, and we applaud their success," said Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint. "Our members see that if you stand together you can ward off an attack."

With the union's three-year contract set to expire in less than three weeks, Toussaint accused MTA officials of "negotiating in bad faith" and said talks were going slowly.

New Yorkers worried about a strike should speak up for the TWU, which wants what Toussaint called a modest pay increase funded from the MTA's year-end surplus of more than $1 billion.

A strike is illegal under New York State law. Workers and the union would face big fines. Pennsylvania doesn't ban strikes.

After a week-long walkout, Philly transit workers got a four-year pact with annual pay hikes of 3% on average, but will help pay for heath care.

The MTA noted in a statement that it plans to spend $450 million of the surplus on workers' pensions. It declined to discuss issues under negotiation.

Mayor Bloomberg warned that a strike before Christmas would be a disaster - especially with ridership expected to approach record levels amid unprecedented holiday fare discounts offered by the MTA.

"It would be a very big problem for this city if mass transit went out at the very time when we have a record number of visitors," he said. "So many livelihoods are dependent on that."

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Rail News: 22 Nov 2005

AS MPs have condemned plans to close Britain’s only railway text track, Network Rail has disclosed it is ‘actively investigating’ alternative locations.

Early Day Motions opposing the closure of the test track at Asfordby, in the East Midlands — once part of the Nottingham-London main line via Melton Mowbray — have been tabled by two Labour MPs, Rob Morris and Alan Simpson, and by the Conservative’s shadow transport secretary, Alan Duncan.

Mr Duncan’s motion noted “that the £1.8 million a year required to keep the track open is a fraction of the £6.5 billion in subsidy that the railways will receive this year.”

But Network Rail’s deputy chief executive, Ian Coucher, has said that retaining the Asfordby test track is “not a viable option.”

In a letter published in The Times, Mr Coucher writes: “The track will not be appropriate for testing future rail technology. The site is of limited use as it has only a short straight stretch of single track and is close to built-up areas, which limit its operating hours due to noise restrictions.

“A test track should be able to test infrastructure equipment (track, points, signalling) not just new trains. There is little scope at this site to test continuously and intensively these components or to clock up significant mileage on new trains. A circular loop rather than a straight-line track is needed.

“That no train operating company or any consortium has expressed interest in taking this site from Alstom would appear to confirm this view.

“There is good news," he added, "We are actively investigating alternative sites that will fulfil the needs of the railway in the coming years and provide better options.”

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Le Monde: 22.11.05
Michel Delberghe

He calls himself the heir of a "trade unionism of class struggle and social mobilisation". But at the present time by launching a renewable strike on SNCF, he puts before everything "the defence of a public service undertaking that resulted from the program of the National Council of Resistance".

IN BRIEF:
1955 - Born in Paris.
1976 - Joined SNCF as Guard and joined the CGT.
2000 - Succeeded Bernard Thibault as head of the CGT railworkers’ Federation.
2005 - (February) Recommend a ‘NO’ vote on the referendum on the European treaty, against the view of the CGT Confederal leadership team.
2005 - (November) Launched a call for an unlimited strike at SNCF

At 50 years of age, Didier Le Reste, secretary of the CGT railworkers’ Federation, an organisation which is based on a network of 29 500 active members and 22 000 retired members, is indeed well and truly one of the representatives of the France which says "No".

No to the culture of "anything for business" in a nationalised company in the process of modernisation, a word, which for him rhymes with privatisation. No to the "liberal" developments in the country and in Europe, which led him to oppose Bernard Thibault. In February, the CGT secretary-general, his predecessor at the railworkers’ federation, was put in a minority during the vote on the constitutional treaty.

After the crisis in the suburbs, the threat of a social movement, which, as in 1995, would paralyse the country, haunts the right. In an interview with ‘The Parisian’, on Wednesday November 16, Patrick Ollier, UMP [Conservative] President of the Commission of Economic Affairs of the French National Assembly, denounced a strike that was justified by its "proximity to the workplace elections" and "the Thibault-Le Reste disagreement". " Must SNCF be taken as a hostage?" asks the MP.

In appearance, Didier Le Reste does not have the profile of power that he has been given. An elegant line in sober suits and a finely cut moustache point to the disciplined habits of the guards, the nobility of the traincrew, his original grade. But the omnipresent portrait of Che Guevara and a sketch of Benoit Frachon, an emblematic figure of the CGT, on the walls of his office on the second floor of the Confederation, in Montreuil, puts him in the mainstream of the organisation of which he has been a member for thirty three years.

The CGT and SNCF became an adopted family for this child born in Paris and given up very early by his Breton mother. Placed in the care of social services then fostered by a peasant family to the south of Nievre, he remembers what it means to have perceived "social injustice". Of his youth, he regrets not having had a child.

With a CAP and a BEP [degree] in mechanics, he was employed at 17 years in a foundry in Nevers, where he took part in building a CGT section, and he at once joined the Communist Party, where he remained a "simple militant" in his neighbourhood, the 12th arrondissement of Paris.

On return from military service, he joined SNCF, as a Guard at Gare de Lyon and the South-east Paris region, where he climbed the levels of trade-union responsibility quickly, until succeeding Bernard Thibault, who was promoted to secretary-general of the Confederation in May 2000.

In the memory of this railwayman and militant, certain dates stand out with the precision of a train departure display board. April 12, 1976: joined SNCF. September 27, 1981: inauguration of the first Paris-Lyon TGV by Charles Fiterman, the Communist Transport Minister. June 27, 1988: the railway disaster (56 dead) at Gare de Lyon. October 27, 1992: the Europe-wide strike by railworkers of all countries opposed to directive 91-440, the first in a long list leading towards transport liberalisation.

"He is a militant and modest Parisian who doesn’t push himself forward. He remains totally faithful to his beliefs, his mannerisms, and his friendships." Where Maryse Dumas, national secretary of the CGT and former leader of the postal and telecommunications workers’ federation, believes he detects these qualities, the persons in charge of other unions mention a "certain coldness and an absence of joviality and enthusiasm", even "a lack of charisma".

"He remains above all a working class militant, heir to a union line which has not changed much, less in any case than that of the confederation", underlines Christian Mahieux, of SUD-Rail. With SNCF management don’t mistake the reasons for the conflict.

Signatures of agreement are rare. But one recognises in the leader of the organisation, which collected 47% of the votes of staff in the 2003 workplace elections, a certain rigour in his behaviour: "He does what he says. He is reliable. And the relationship does not call for complicated decoding."

For his part, Didier Le Reste admits that Louis Gallois, SNCF President, is not a "macho manager". But he persists in rejecting the transformation of a company "where the railway technicians are replaced by managers", where profitability imposes constraints on a "public service instrument of solidarity and social cohesion". A public service which, he swears, "does not restrict itself only to the defence of the interests and the employment rights of its employees".

Having entered into the resistance struggle at SNCF, the secretary-general of the railworkers’ federation could also be instruggle within the Confederation, in a few months at the 48th congress, in April. From the start, he rejects any inclination towards "rupture" and "frontal opposition" to Bernard Thibault.

But, after the revolt organised during the consultation on the European referendum, he recognises that "nobody remains blameless for this period". And he invites the CGT "to define a trade-union strategy of effective opposition to the privatisation of companies and public services".

The divergences are quite real in relation to policy. Where Bernard Thibault intends to take his distances with the parties, CP included, Didier Le Reste believes, on the contrary, that "political engagement is the natural extension of trade union action".

At the head office, in Montreuil, he is considered too faithful to tradition to imagine himself as a ringleader, and even less a "dauphin". "The mobilisation which the railworkers’ federation is calling does not inevitably have a following throughout the country", underlines Maryse Dumas. In other words, the strike issued for Monday November 21 will have a test value for the secretary.

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Nouvel Observateur:: 22.11.05

PARIS - Four railworkers' unions that started a renewable strike that has been going on since Monday evening at SNCF left a five hour meeting with the company's management "satisfied" on Tuesday.

"We obtained concrete comittments for which credit must go to the railworkers' mobilisation. General Assemblies will decide on Wednesday morning on whether or not to resume work. It is not question of us deciding for the railworkers on the next steps for the movement even if we are giving a positive opinion", declared the General Secretary of the CGT Railworkers, Didier Le Reste, at the conclusion of the meeting in the SNCF offices in Paris.

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ABC News: Nov 22, 2005 — By Sophie Louet

PARIS - French President Jacques Chirac called for negotiations to end a nationwide rail strike that caused commuter chaos on Tuesday and poses a new threat to his government, just days after urban riots abated.

The strike, which began on Monday evening, disrupted trains across France as four trade unions at the SNCF railway operator pressed demands over pay and protested what they say will be a gradual privatization of the company.

Chirac reiterated promises that SNCF would not be privatized after the unions threatened to prolong the strike indefinitely if the government did not quickly address their concerns.

"SNCF, which is a brilliant French company and essential to France, is a public service that is absolutely indispensable to our country," Chirac told reporters.

"It is a public company and will remain so," he said. "I call for negotiations, responsibility and reason."

Chirac's swift response contrasted with his slow reaction to the violence which began in poor suburbs on October 27 and faded last week. He was heavily criticized for not commenting publicly on the rioting for more than a week.

SNCF said only one in three high-speed TGV trains was running and fewer than one in three other regional trains was in service. Four of every five trains operated on the international Eurostar and Thalys services.

French people often say they support the motives behind transport strikes, but there was little sympathy on Tuesday for the sixth SNCF stoppage this year.

"I think it's the same as if (state electricity company) EDF went on strike and cut off the electricity," said Cecile, a woman stranded at Gare du Nord station in Paris.

"They're holding the French people hostage. Even if we understand their demands, it's a real shame."

GOVERNMENT SHAKEN

The conservative government has shown a clear desire to avoid a major wave of labor unrest after being shaken by France's worst urban violence in almost 40 years, led by youths in poor suburbs who feel excluded from mainstream society.

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin may be banking on public anger over the strike forcing the unions to back down, but he has little room for maneuver on wages as he tries to meet public deficit targets set by the European Union.

He can also do little to address the unions' opposition to EU plans to open markets for rail freight to outside competition next year.

SNCF chief Louis Gallois says the company will lose about 20 million euros a day during the strike, which was due to last at least 24 hours and was likely to be extended.

Strikes are also expected on Paris's subway and on suburban trains on Wednesday, and the unions have taken a tough stance as they prepare for leadership elections.

"We want real negotiations today and hope Gallois will have the desire and means to respond to our demands," said Didier Le Reste, head of the railway branch of the CGT. "Otherwise I think rail workers will decide to extend the protest."

The government has already faced warning strikes by hundreds of thousands of people this autumn over low pay, an unemployment rate of almost 10 percent and falling living standards.

A long strike could augur badly for the center-right before parliamentary and presidential elections in 2007.

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Financial Express: Nov 21

New Delhi - China railways’ strategy to rehabilitate displaced workers and their system of converting profits as performance-based management bonuses, has generated interest among Indian railway officials.

Members of an Indian railway ministry delegation, which recently visited China, shared their experiences during a World Bank seminar, held here on Monday. World Bank country director, Michael Carter was also present on the occasion.

With China embarking on a $250 billion project to expand its railways in the next 15 years, India also has similar plans lined up.

After recovering from being bankrupt in 2001, railways has approached the World Bank for a $150 million assistance to fund its long term investment and development plan, which is under preparation.

The plan would help meet the growing demand arising from the accelerating economic growth, Geeta Thoopal, additional member (finance) in the ministry and leader of the six member delegation, said.

Ticket To Prosperity

• The Indian railways has approached the World Bank for a $150 million assistance to fund its long term investment and development plan,
• We can emulate China’s railway in areas like scaling up investment to increase capacity, improving services, cutting unit cost of transport, etc.

 Ms Thoopal said the Indian railway can emulate China’s railway in certain areas like scaling up investment to increase capacity, improving services, cutting unit cost of transport and separating non-core activities.

India, who has been treading in China’s footsteps right from economic growth, FDI inflow to infrastructure, is lining up major reforms to improve efficiency and service of the the public utility for making it a major revenue earner in the coming years.

The visit was arranged as part of the World Bank sponsored exchanges between India and China to study railway and highway development strategies and programmes in the two countries.

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Business Week: NOV. 21

China plans to place an order for 60 Japanese super-express Shinkansen "bullet" trains to upgrade the country's railway system, according to a Japanese news report Monday.

The trains are modeled on East Japan Railway Co's high-speed "Hayate" trains which travel at up to 275 kilometers per hour (170 mph)., Kyodo News agency reported, citing unidentified industry sources.

The orders will be placed with Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and other Japanese companies as part of a project to upgrade China's key railway lines.

A spokesman from Kawasaki Heavy said the company was in talks about a possible deal, but could not confirm the specifics of the Kyodo report.

"Our negotiations on the project are still continuing and we cannot comment on its details," said Masahito Kodera.

Kawasaki Heavy was among six companies, includng Alstom SA of France and Bombadier Inc. of Canada, to win contracts last year from China's Railway Ministry to to improve its railway system.

Under the project, China aims to double the speed of trains on five railway lines to 200 kilometers (125 miles) per hour, using Japan's bullet train technology.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries' successful bid was made with Chinese partner Nanche Sifang Locomotive Co.

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Bloomberg News: November 22, 2005
By TIAN YING

Siemens locomotive deal considered sign
BEIJING -- Siemens AG's contract to help supply China with 60 locomotives as fast as France's TGV trains may herald billions of dollars of orders for global engineering companies, say economists including China Securities Research Co.'s Hu Yanni.

Siemens, Germany's largest engineering company, will make three trains that run at top speeds of 300 kilometres an hour and help Tangshan Locomotive & Rolling Stock Work build the remaining 57 locomotives in a €669-million ($928-million) contract. Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and five Japan-based companies are in talks to build another 60 trains that can run at the same speed, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri reported yesterday.

Siemens, Bombardier Inc. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. stand to gain from China's 100-billion yuan ($14.6-billion) plan to expand the nation's railway network by 35 per cent to 100,000 kilometres by 2020. The choice of high-speed trains may reflect the need to ease congestion in the ports, railways and highways of the world's fastest-growing major economy.

"The government is still trying to ease the transportation bottleneck to facilitate economic expansion," China Securities' Ms. Hu said in Beijing. "The country needs to speed up the railway service to move people and cargo during the [2008] Olympic Games," she said.

China's economic growth spurred demand for commodities such as coal, oil and iron ore and increased exports of electronics, toys and other goods. Rising demand stretched the rail network and ports to capacity, leading to delays and surging prices.

Rail operators in China's northwestern, northeastern and southeastern areas could meet only about 30 per cent of demand in the second quarter, according to official statistics.

Siemens and Germany's ThyssenKrupp AG helped China build a railway in 2002 in Shanghai capable of running at 430 km/h.

The so-called maglev train covers a 35-kilometre route from that city's Pudong airport to the Longyang subway station in less than eight minutes.

The top speed of the Siemens-Tangshan trains will be comparable to France's TGV system, one of Japan's bullet trains.

Since 1997, West Japan Railway Co. has been running a 300-km/h Sanyo Shinkansen service between Shin-Osaka and Hakata.

Kawasaki, Japan's second-largest maker of heavy machinery, is reported to be in talks to build another 60 high-speed trains in Qingdao.

East Japan Railway Co.'s Hayate bullet trains can run at 300 km/h.

The companies jointly developing the Hayate for China are Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., Itochu Corp. and Marubeni Corp., Yomiuri said, without saying where it got the information.

Montreal-based Bombardier, the world's largest maker of rail equipment, announced a plan in May to manufacture undercarriages in eastern China's Qingdao city to fulfill more than $950-million of contracts.

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l'Humanité: 21 November 2005
Pierre-Henri Lab

Privatisation. The railworkers’ trade unions CGT, FO, SUD and FGAAC are not making up the dangers currently threatening the company. Here is the proof in six points.

1. reorganisation is opening the way for the private sector

Confronted by the burden of its debt and unable to balance its budget by itself, SNCF is undergoing a full reorganisation. In the view of the trade unions: the new internal organisation at the company with the creation of four business sectors (Passenger, Regional Trains around Paris/Ile de France, Freight and Regional/Provincial Train Services), separate business and management strategies sector by sector coupled with the breaking up of the engineering and locomotive departments. The railworkers’ union federations note that all public companies that have been privatised have experienced this type of reorganisation, as a precondition for privatisation. They particularly point to the dangers of competition between different sectors.

The reorganisation of - the France-Europe Travel sector (formerly main lines) and its 2,330 job losses have led, according to the unions, to the closure of stations and ticket counters to the detriment of equal access of users to public services. They insist on the reintegration of ID-TGV [online ticket sales outlet] in the parent company, believing that the current subsidiary company for online ticket sales is competing with the other retail outlets and encouraging a race to profitability. They are also asking for a halt to reorganisation of the civil engineering and locomotive departments. The breaking up into four separate parts of these departments, which is leading in the long term to separate sector-led management, according to them, puts in question the integrated character of SNCF.

Finally the railworkers’ unions are worried in general about the organisation of subsidiary companies and possible corollaries such as putting in doubt the equalisation between sectors and the issue of transfers into the private sector. On this last point, it should be noted that SNCF has already given away SERNAM (parcel delivery transport) and the Southern Hydroelectric Company, which provided 30% of the electricity consumed by SNCF.

2. Freight: road to the detriment of rail

As a consequence of the European liberalisation of rail freight, the reorganisation of SNCF freight is being fought hard by railworkers. This plan, which received the green light from the European Commission last 2 March, envisages payment of 1,5 billion Euros (800 million Euros from the French State and 700 million Euros from SNCF) to this sector of the industry. The compensation negotiated between the [former] government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin and the European Commission is considered "unacceptable" by the trade unions.

In addition, the plan for freight is behind three quarters of the 3,450 job losses outlined in the 2005 budget, it forces a "reduction in volume of goods transported" in the public sector company by "a reduction in its freight capacity" (the closure of marshalling yards and distribution points...) and by acceptance of liberalisation in the other branches of the rail industry.

Finally, the French State and SNCF are prohibited from subsidising this sector, now and in the future. The trade-unions believe that this reorganisation translates as a complete folding up of public sector rail freight for the most profitable traffic and they fear that in future this subsidiary sector will be privatised.

They estimate finally that this plan goes against environmental needs, committments made under the climate change initiaitive and to regional planning by strengthening the share of road freight transport. Hence, since the implementation of the plan, we have seen an 11% fall in freight traffic.

3. a network being whittled away

The trade unions are worried about short-term planning on the rail network. The audit ordered by SNCF and Network Rail of France (RFF) notes "its continual degradation and the first signs of degeneration", the fruit of a chronic under-investment. The authors of the audit quantify the additional resources required to maintain the network at its current level as between 500 and 550 million Euros. The government only authorised an envelope of 70 million Euros this year, to be financed by RFF.

The second cause for dissatisfaction: in their recommendations, the experts suggest giving up 11,000 kilometres of railway lines, that is to say a third of the current network. The trade unions insist that this recommendation must not be followed because it constitutes, according to them, in the long term, a serious handicap to the development of rail transport.

Third demand: during the recent parliamentary reading in the Senate [Upper Chamber] of the Bill on Safety and Transport Development, the government introduced in secrecy a provision authorising public-private partnerships for financing investment in renewal or maintenance of the rail network. The trade unions insist this provision be withdrawn during the reading of the Bill by MPs at the beginning of December.

4. Public transport: lines put up for auction

In addition to abandoning the plan to cut the Corail [Crossrail] trains and the attempt to transfer responsibility for financing interregional trains to Regional government, the trade unions are concerned about the re-negotiation of TER [regional train services] operating agreements between SNCF and Regional governments. They point to the risk of competition between the public sector and private operators for the delivery all or part of this traffic. They fear services are being "put up for auction" line by line leading to further reorganisation of SNCF.

5. Jobs: the haemorrhage

Since 2002, 11,561 railworkers’ posts have disappeared. In 2005, in addition to the thousands of job losses in freight and in ticket offices, the target for recruitment of new staff is far from having been achieved (3,400 out of the 4,500 posts envisaged). The trade unions insist on a halt to job losses, the carrying out of planned recruitment targets and taking on of 1,000 additional railworkers.

6. Wages: railworkers tighten their belts

In recent years, wage increases have been below inflation. The railworkers’ unions are demanding the immediate opening of wage negotiations for 2006 and payment of a premium of at least 160 Euros owed from 2004 that management has already committed to pay.

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BBC News: 21 November 2005

Rail workers in France have begun a national strike, crippling the rail network for at least 24 hours. Commuters were forced to fight for space on the last trains.

As many as two-thirds of trains stopped running as commuters tried return home on Monday night.

Unions are striking to protest against any privatisation of the rail network, despite government assurances.

Disruption to commuter and high-speed services will continue until Tuesday evening, but the strike could last for an indefinite period.

Many commuters left Paris early on Monday, but others were left to squeeze onto scarce trains or wait for buses in cold winter weather.

Transport minister Dominique Perben earlier wrote to unions trying to re-assure them that the national rail network, SNCF, would not be sold off.

"I put in black and white what I have said on several occasions over the last 10 days: there is no plan for the privatisation of SNCF," the minister said.

But the Force Ouvriere union, which represents rail workers, said Mr Perben's letter was not enough.

The union said it expected 70% to 80% of France's 165,000 rail workers to participate in the strike.

Only 40% of high-speed TGV services were thought to be running, and international connections were also hit.

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L'Express: 21 November, 2005

A strike on Tuesday at SNCF, notice given for Wednesday and Thursday with RATP [Paris Regional Transport Authority], a strike movement starts up again at RTM [Marseille Regional Transport]. Three movements on the same central issue: fear of privatisation. But, beyond that, the claims are many and varied and the trade unions are going forward in somewhat disparate order.

Unlimited and renewable notice of a strike from Monday evening at SNCF, a strike notice for Wednesday and Thursday at RATP and strike renewed at Marseilles Transport Authority. Public transport starts a particularly disturbed week. Three distinct movements, which meet apparently on the same topic: to denounce anything that resembles the beginning of privatisation and to defend the public services. However, to look at these more closely, things are not so clear. And in the three cases, the trade unions are going forward in somewhat disparate order.

For the first time in 43 days of strikes at RTM, the trade unions are divided on the way forward. On Monday morning, the strike was renewed in only three of the four depots, the fourth having decided by 70% to resume work, following the call of the FO and UNSA unions. The two trade unions, which account for 21% of the employees together, came out of Sunday’s inter-union meeting and were to sign a compromise with the management and City Council of Marseille on Monday afternoon. An imperfect but acceptable compromise, according to the two trade unions, which looks forward to 200 new posts being created under RTM terms and conditions on the trams, a wage increase of 2,2% in 2005 and spreading out over 10 months of reserves of days of the October strike. The other trade unions, CFDT and CGT in the leadership, believe they have not had an answer on the privatisation of the trams. They had however agreed no longer to make withdrawal of the public service delegation, that is envisaged to be the private company Connex the future operator of the city tram, the absolute precondition to the resumption of work. "We want a tram that is 100% RTM with private technical assistance limited in duration. That is not what is being proposed to us "explains the CGT.

At SNCF also, four of the eight railworkers’ federations - CGT, SUD-Rail, FO and Fgaac (train drivers) which account for 72% of the railworkers and 95% of drivers - denounce "a creeping privatisation". But on paper, the two strike notices, which will begin Monday at 20.00 hours, comprise a total of 23 demands, amongst which are defence of jobs, the restoration of wage levels and retirements. CFTC, which is not taking part in the strike movement, denounces a "strike without an exit point". "These diversity of claims are not surprising, suggests Jacques Capdevielle, specialist in social movements at CEVIPOF. There is a large difference between the train crews and non-travelling workers". On its side, SNCF management has not ceased to confirm that it does not understand the privatisation argument. On Monday, Transport Minister, Dominique Perben wrote to the four trade unions to repeat to them that there is no privatisation project and that he was going to assign an additional 70 million Euros to the regeneration of railway lines. This also was an attempt to answer the First Secretary of the PS [Parti Socialist], François Holland, who invited the State "to reassure" the railworkers.

Lastly, at RATP, CGT and SUD trade unions are also holding up the threat of privatisation and the questioning of their employment rights of a national public company of public services, through the reduction of their special pension plan to a standard form. But if the majority Cgt-RATP Union gave a 24 hours strike notice for Wednesday November 23, the SUD trade union put to its unlimited strike notice as from Thursday 24, while inviting the workers to join the CGT’s movement. "It should not be forgotten that the trade unions are competitors. A competitive alliance, it is our own peculiar French trade unionism "points out Jacques Capdevielle.

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Following previous reports on the French national rail strike, which started at 20.00 hours on Monday 21 November, we translate the latest strike bulletin ('La grève' - 'The strike' N°6) from French railworkers' union, SUD-Rail. Here they reproduce the most recent joint letter sent to the French Minister of Transport from the four striking unions CGT, SUD-Rail, FO and FGAAC.

The strike

Federation of SUD-rail unions
17 bd de la libération 93200 St Denis
01 42 43 35 75 - http://www.sudrail.org

Seldom, have SNCF management and the government done so little "communication" to try to break a railworkers’ strike!

SNCF management has had in its hands, for many days, the united platform of the trade union federations, the minister knows our requirements. We are on strike: let us make them yield, by the power of our movement, force them to negotiate!

CGT - FO – SUD-rail - FGAAC Railworkers’ trade union federations -
address to the minister

TO: Mr Dominique PERBEN
Minister for Transport, Equipment, Housing, Tourism and the Sea
246, boulevard Saint-Germain 75700
Paris

Minister,

The conflict situation currently underway within SNCF must lead to the opening of real negotiations so that serious answers are brought forward to our demands and in order that precise commitments are undertaken as to the future of the public company of public service and with adequate resources to improve its effectiveness.

We make a point of reminding you that the platform of demands that we lodged with the President of SNCF on 10 November last is well known to management of the company as well as to your department. Indeed, they are the same claims and requirements, which have been borne by the social movements for an entire year.

Since the united national demonstration of 25 November 2004, which saw 50,000 railworkers marching in the streets of Paris, several nation-wide strikes have taken place, local, regional and sectoral actions and various calls for a change of policy, it is unfortunately necessary to note that we were scarcely heard. Worse, SNCF management decided to accelerate the implementation of re-organisation projects that are opposed by the staff before devoting themselves, as they say, to the years "business".

Added to that are serious decisions in relation to the future of SNCF Public Service made behind the backs of railworkers, and without any dialogue ever taking place.

If, many of the demands on which real negotiations must begin, are the responsibility of SNCF Management, other matters call for answers from the government.

For example the debt (41 billion Euros) which governs the railway’s capacity for self-financing by preventing it from meeting its development needs, which continue to grow more and more. Let’s remember that the financial costs of servicing the debt are approximately 350 million euros per annum for SNCF and 1,300 billion euros for RFF. It is thus imperative to find a clear way of freeing the railway system from this debt burden.

The future of SNCF as a public company of public service raises legitimate questions amongst railworkers and nourishes certain concerns that are no less legitimate.

The dogmatic policy of the European Union particularly contributes to darkening the future of our public services: it sees the future of the railways only with by generalising competition, the liberalisation of its activities, the smashing up of public monopolies. It is accompanied in France, in particular, by a governmental frenzy of the "whole privatization". All these threats weigh very heavily on the future of our public service.

The internal organization of the SNCF into large departments (the imposition without dialogue, or even consultation of the Company Central Committee) together with activities and subsidiary companies increasingly independent, autonomous and competing between each other is not and will not be without consequences for the consistency of the integrated public service which is SNCF. All the more so, since this phenomenon is being increasingly accentuated, through the various departments and through the staff, who SNCF management intends "to dedicate" to a "branch of activity", to the detriment of the required integration of the company. The creation of permanent subsidiary companies, is ensuring that customer welcome services in stations and following-up "regular travellers"... is continuously transferring core railway grades towards these subsidiary companies and into more precarious employment.

Recent privatisations and splitting off into subsidiary companies have occurred in the SNCF group accompanied for some by many job losses (SERNAM, SHEM, TELECOM DEVELOPMENT, FOLD, EFFIA, ID TGV...) and those already started or under consideration like NAVILAND CARGO LINER (e.g. CNC) and part of SNCF Engineering, seriously challenge the staff and legitimate their questions.

All these observed and verifiable elements put end to end lead us to consider that we are witnessing a breaking up of SNCF, a creeping privatisation even more insidious than an all-out frontal attack.

We await, for your part, Minister, and in the name of the French Republic precise and relevant responses on keeping and strengthening SNCF as a public company part of a public service.

The railworkers’ trade unions for a long time have alerted degradation of the state of the French national rail network.

The audit, which was carried out and published recently points clearly to the State’s responsibilities for the inadequacy of public investment assigned to bringing up the standard of the rail network.

This audit proposes a series of recommendations intended to gradually improve maintenance of the national rail network and presents three scenarios for a probable evolution.

Certain recommendations aim at increasing the pressure on railworkers’ productivity, by proposing the progressive dismantling of 30% of shunting yards and stations, the reduction by 20% of main line stations and giving up the modernisation of 11,000 kilometers of railway line used by fewer than 20 trains per day.

To maintain in the future the density of the current national rail network, the inadequate curent financing must be raised from 500 to 550 Million euros and the audit recommends 800 more Million euros of additional investments each year over 20 years in order to improve the state of the rail network.

We are asking that the additional financial resources be allocated to SNCF within the framework of RFF-SNCF and we wish to know the intentions of the government as to the finances that it intends to release to maintain and regenerate the rail network in accordance with the recommendations of the audit referred to above.

Within this framework, we require on behalf of the government an engagement not to close any railway line.

When we evoke heavy decisions made behind the backs of railworkers and their representatives in relation to the future of the railway sector, we want to speak about the "Safety and Transport Development " Bill currently being examined by the French National Assembly.

This bill introduced under an emergency procedure was already the subject of a vote in the Senate. It envisages, amongst other things, recourse to the private finance in undertaking new railway infrastructure, which will lead to modification of the law of 13 February 1997 that created RFF. This is being done in greatest obscurity. The railworkers and their representatives discovered through the press the existence of this Bill.

Beyond the fact that we remain opposed to private finance for public service infrastructure, we require that SNCF preserves a monopoly of the operation, management and maintenance of all railway infrastructure. It is unacceptable that some should benefit from intervening in safety installations at the risk of diluting responsibilities and weakening the safety chain.

On 5 December 2005, the Council of European Transport Ministers will meet in Brussels, amongst other reasons, to examine the 3rd railway package, which comprises the liberalisation directive for international passenger traffic.

We reiterate our opposition to liberalisation and the deregulation of the railway sector which, obviously does not contribute, as far as it is necessary, to revitalising railways in Europe.

We wish to know the position of the French government in respect of this third railway package.

We dispute the European requirements for recapitalising SNCF Freight: rapid opening up to competition in March 2006, an obligation to reduce the investment and the level of traffic in order to make room for private competitors.

We denounce the creeping privatisation, which wants to set up a European Draft Regulation on the obligations of public service (OSP) and which authorizes the Regulatory authorities to entrust the operation of the national and regional railway lines (TER) to any railway operator whatsoever, at least after invitation to tender.

Your predecessor, Mr Gilles de Robien was committed under a letter dated May 18, 2005 to opening discussions on the social framework (regulation of work...) to apply to railway operators except SNCF which intervened in the national rail network.

This advertised commitment was not put into effect. We are asking that it be carried out today and we await your answer.

In the same manner, it is not acceptable that railworkers and their representatives find out through the media that such or such a railway operator (private or otherwise...) has obtained through your ministry a Safety Certificate authorizing them to allow trains to operate on our national rail network in competition with those of SNCF.

The conditions of obtaining such a Safety Certificate as of those related to its delivery are ignored and are carried out without transparency. We ask that it be cured in this established fact. We want to know how CONNEX obtains certificates in France, whereas in England, after having exploited the railway network in Kent and the South East it was forced to withdraw from operating trains on the network because of significant problems involving safety.

To conclude, Minister, we are asking that the State take financial responsibility for the development plan of crossrail and the radial railway lines (CORAIL trains) which are, let’s remember, part of regional planning and thus raise the responsibility of the State.

Here is summarized, Minister, a certain number of situations which call for your share of the answers and specific attention.

Assuring you of our determination within the framework of our responsibilities and waiting to read your response we remain

Sincerely yours

Paris, 21 November 2005
16h 30

CGT
Didier LE RESTE

FGAAC
William LA ROCCA

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It is being said that because RMT has rejected the FGW/ASLEF agreement RMT Drivers will not be linked with the additional rest day. This is not the case.

I am just writing to dispel the current rumours surrounding the 2005 Productivity/Pay situation which is being spread around by some drivers. It is being said that because RMT has rejected the FGW/ASLEF agreement RMT Drivers will not be linked with the additional rest day. This is not the case.

The RMT Executive will be meeting this week to take a decision on the best means to take forward our Driver members justified and legitimate claim for a minimum guaranteed 104 Rest Days a year.

The RMT accepted FGWs 4% pay offer some time ago and we are advised by FGW that this will appear in Decembers pay.

In the meantime I would like to thank RMT Drivers for their steadfast support of the Union’s position on these issues. If there is one thing that this dispute has served to demonstrate it is the RMTs right to represent our Driver members in negotiations with FGW, as shown by the presence of the RMT Full Time Officer at the last FGW Drivers Divisional Council meeting on 14th November.

RMT is recognised by and recognises the agreed machinery of negotiation and will continue to uphold the democratic rights of individual members as well as working towards one united union for all Railway Workers.

Brendan Bailey
Membership and Recruitment Officer
Bristol Rail Branch - RMT

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Le Monde: 22.11.05
François Bostnavaron

Five meetings and more than fifteen hours of discussions between the management of SNCF and the CGT, SUD-Rail, FO and FGAAC (train drivers) trade unions held during the week from the 14 to 19 November, have not lead to an agreement.

The demonstration organised by The Federation of collectives in defence of public services assembled 30,000 people in Paris on Saturday 19 November

The nation-wide renewable strike movement, which these four trade-unions called – out of the eight unions represented at SNCF -- was to begin Monday November 21 at 20.00 hours. According to forecasts, it will result in strong disturbances.

The government however did everything to try to defuse the conflict. In particular while insisting on the absence of any privatisation project of SNCF, one of the points of the trade-union mobilisation. The Prime Minister, in leaving for Strasbourg on Friday November 18, assured that, "if it is needed, we will take initiatives to show that the risk of privatisation of the SNCF is absurd". In an interview with the Sunday Newspaper Journal du dimanche, the Minister for Transport, Dominique Perben, declared himself "ready" to give "a written confirmation" of his intention "not to privatise SNCF".

Taking him at his word, the trade unions were to send him on Monday, a letter asking "for the government’s written undertaking on keeping the SNCF as a public company". "Interviews are all very well", in the opinion of Didier Le Reste, secretary-general of the CGT-Railworkers, but "it would be better to have the note in writing and in our hands". To stop the conflict, "we need the heavy guns around the table", warns Mr. Le Reste, convinced that "only the mobilisation will make it possible to be heard".

The origin of this conflict poses a great number of questions. Two separate strike notices were given. One by the CGT, the leading trade-union organisation in the company (with 47,14% of votes at the time of the last workplace elections), SUD-Rail, the second trade union (with 14,79%) and FO (the 5th organisation, with 6,61% of votes). It comprises about fifteen demands.

The other strike notice was given by FGAAC, the second trade-union organisation amongst train drivers with 31,80% of the votes, behind the CGT (36,28%) and in front of SUD-Rail (22,40%). It comprises very grade-specific demands for these drivers.

Faced with the demands behind the strike notices of CGT, SUD-Rail and FO and that of FGAAC, SNCF management has made sure that it has come part way: wage negotiations were brought forward to January; there will be finally 4,500 new staff recruited in 2005, that is to say 800 more than envisaged in the budget; an additional 40 million Euros will be allocated to remove 80% of the speed restrictions on the network. Management assures moreover that it will maintain all of the road/rail service points for freight and that posts, which were to be removed, will be maintained for two years longer should they need to be reopened. Lastly, the "freight" drivers’ will always depend on traction.

The question of privatisation remains "If one day there were to remain two companies left to privatise in France, SNCF would be one of them", jokes a manager of the public company. But even if the SNCF chairman, Louis Gallois, or Dominique Perben assure in chorus that it is not on the agenda, the trade-union organisations have made it their war-horse who denounce "having chosen piloting by activities (freight, main lines, Ile-de-France and TER) and the creation of wholly-owned subsidiary companies for certain activities like iDTGV, the SNCF takes a first step towards their piecemeal sale ". More especially as, according to these same trade unions, the management doesn’t hesitate to set up "methods which were up to that point reserved for the private sector like profit-sharing or promotion by merit".

Raising "creeping privatisation" in addition to the significant number of other demands makes it possible to bring together broad support amongst railworkers, because of the "employment rights" associated with a public company, with which one does not joke.

But two other "political" elements also weigh on this conflict. The first is the proximity of the next workplace elections at SNCF: they will take place in March 2006. The last elections saw the clear advance of SUD-Rail and the failure of the CFDT.

However, from this point of view, the organisations that originated the strike notice must join again in dialogue with... their own rank and file. By denouncing at the beginning of October the agreement on profit-sharing, which envisaged a payment of a 160 Euros premium per railwayman, they indeed caused doubt amongst a great number of their members. Also they must from now on obtain other compensations so that the latter forget this episode between now and March 2006.

The other element is the proximity of the CGT congress, in April 2006. Didier Le Reste is in opposition to the line preached by the CGT secretary-general, Bernard Thibault, himself a former CGT-Railworkers' leader.

The first estimates on the participation of railworkers in the conflict, is expected on Tuesday November 21 at 11 hours, will have a great influence over the duration of the strike. In the region of 30% of participants, the movement could be one of limited duration. In this sense, doubtless observers have not failed to notice that the strike called by the CGT on the RATP for Wednesday November 22 could well be related to the conflict with SNCF, only in order to prolong the conflict and "to make a mass movement".

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Independent online: 21 November 2005
By Barrie Clement, Transport Editor

Talks aimed at "privatising" more than £100m-worth of rail assets, in North-west England, have collapsed after negotiators from both sides stormed out of a critical meeting.

The infrastructure organisation Network Rail confirmed yesterday that negotiations had "broken down", although Merseyrail, owned by the support services group Serco and the Dutch company Nedrail, insisted they were "still in communication".

Merseyrail, which operates trains in a large area of North-west England, wants to take over responsibility for track and signalling from Network Rail. Industry sources said the discussions ended with senior executives from both sides "banging tables and shouting".

The sources said the acrimony was partly caused by Merseyrail demanding a "dowry" for relieving the infrastructure company of its assets, which include 75 miles of track, 67 stations, tunnels, signalling and buildings. The source said: "Network Rail thought that was utterly out of the question. It was the moment they thought that Merseyrail were not serious any more."

If the agreement had gone through, some rail insiders thought it could be the model for "vertical integration" in other conurbations. However, the RMT rail union had threatened strike action over the proposal because it amounted to "re-privatisation" of rail maintenance which had only recently been taken back in-house by the state-backed Network Rail.

It is understood that Network Rail believes that during 18 months of talks Merseyrail has failed to set out a viable business case for transferring the assets. The infrastructure company has pointed out that Merseyrail's costs would be higher because it could not enjoy the economies of scale available to a company responsible for the whole of the national rail system. Network Rail also believes that Merseyrail has yet to demonstrate it could operate the network more efficiently.

It is thought that Merseyrail is appealing above the heads of Network Rail to the Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling, who is "sympathetic" to vertical integration in the Mersey area.

Bob Crow, the RMT union general secretary, said: "If true this is good news for our members, good news for the railways and good news for the travelling public. We warned that this was a flawed plan that would mean further fragmentation of our railways, would pose a serious threat to the safety, and would [in effect] tear up our members' national promotion and transfer agreement.

Neil Scales, the chief executive of Merseytravel, which has awarded a 25-year franchise to Merseyrail Electrics, insisted negotiations would continue.

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AFX News Limited: 11.21.2005

PARIS (AFX) - The Sud union said it has called an open-ended strike of members at Paris transport operator RATP starting Thursday in protest at apparent plans to privatise the group.

The call follows that of the majority CGT union for a 24-hour RATP strike Wednesday and any action will come in the wake of a 24-hour national rail strike, scheduled to start tonight.

The CGT denounced the 'threat to public services' and general deregulation in the industry, while Sud is singling out the government's plan to incorporate RATP's pension scheme within the state social security system.

The government confirmed it is considering such a move, which, in EDF's case was a step in the route towards privatisation.

The transfer of pension assets shifts the responsibility for paying retired employees pensions but would produce a one-off gain to prop up the social security budget and removes one obstacle to privatisation.

Meanwhile, talks between the government and drivers unions at the SNCF national rail operator stalled at the weekend.

The unions issued a list of 15 separate demands including a halt to restructuring plans and layoffs, pay rises all round, a new round of recruitment and the preservation of SNCF's monopoly.

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Independent online: November 20 2005

Paris - France faces a crippling rail strike on Monday unless the government resolves within the next 24-hours a dispute over what unions call an erosion of public services and workers' rights.

Days after weeks of nightly rioting in poor suburbs ended, the French government is facing another conflict as the unions prepare for the one-day strike to protest against conditions at SNCF and concern over the possible privatisation of the national rail operator.

French Transport Minister Domique Preben reiterated in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper that the government has ruled out privatising SNCF and said he was determined to reach a solution to avoid the strike.

The rail strike call for 8pm Monday will coincide with the listing of shares of state power giant EDF, which the unions also strongly opposed.

SNCF said it could only guarantee services for one in four regional trains and about one-third of long-distance, high-speed TGV trains during the strike that would cost the firm an estimated €20-million.

But by late Sunday, the unions said the government had yet to schedule a meeting with the rail workers.

"Management and government always do not propose anything," said the SUD-rail union in a statement.

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Bloomberg: Nov. 21

Workers of Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer, or SNCF, France's national railroad, will go on strike tonight against what they call the "rampant privatization'' of the state-owned company.

Four unions, the Confederation Generale du Travail, Sud- Rail, Force Ouvriere and Fgaac, issued a strike notice and will demonstrate against a share sale, SNCF spokesman Jean-Paul Boulet said in a Nov. 16 interview. The strike, starting tonight at 8:00 p.m., will last until the morning of Nov. 23.

"Both SNCF and the government have already repeated several times that the company won't be privatized,'' Boulet said.

The strike marks yet another test for the government of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, which is just emerging from the country's worst civil unrest in almost four decades. It comes just after the sale last week of shares in Electricite de France, whose shares will start trading today.

Regional and national trains will be the most affected, with a complete paralysis of the rail system on Nov. 22, while international services should work as normal, according to Paris- based SNCF's Web site.

About 40 percent of the TGV high-speed trains will run, SNCF said. Four out of five Eurostar trains, which link Paris to London, and Thalys trains, which connect Paris and Brussels, will be in service, SNCF said.

As much as 50 percent of the traffic will be ensured in Ile de France, the Paris region, and a third of the trains serving lines C and D of the Reseau Express Regional, or RER, the regional train network that connect Paris with its suburbs, will be running, SNCF said.

More Unrest

The real concern of the labor unions is the planned reorganisation of the railroad, which could result in the shrinking of several of its activities, Liberation newspaper reported today. Some of those activities may be spun off or sold, the newspaper said, without citing anyone.

Salary negotiations, which were originally scheduled for April, have been moved up to January in order to find a compromise with employees, Boulet said.

SNCF's profit in the first half soared almost 15-fold on a gain from the sale of 40 percent of an electricity business.

Net income rose to 613 million euros ($749 million) from 42 million euros a year earlier. Of that total, 520 million euros was from capital gains, mainly from the sale of 40 percent of Societe Hydroelectrique du Midi to Suez SA.

The strike follows close on the heels of the violence that gripped France as immigrants from North and West Africa and their descendents torched 9,000 cars in more than two weeks of civil unrest, after the accidental death of two youths on Oct. 27.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Gabriele Parussini in Paris at gparussini@bloomberg.net.

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WebIndia123.com: Dhaka - November 20, 2005

Islamic militant outfit Jama Atul Mujahideen (JMB) today threatened to blow up Chittagong Railway station in southeastern Bangladesh if Station Manager Shafiuddin Ahmad failed to express his solidarity in next 10 days with their current movement for introduction of Islamic rule in the country.

A phone caller claiming himself as JMB Regional Commander Maulana Abu Mohammad Moinuddin gave the threat over telephone to the Station Manager at his office.

"RAB or police will not be able to protect you and the railway station. Join us," the caller said in his short telephonic threat.

Police patrol in and around Chittagong Railway Station was beefed up following the threat.

On November 14, two judges were killed in a powerful bomb explosion operated by a JMB suicide squad in southern Jhalakathi district.

Today, a JMB militant asked a Senior Assistant Judge Umme Kulsum, while in her chamber, to conduct trial process according to Islamic laws. "Otherwise, action will be taken against you," the caller was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, police today arrested nine strangers suspected as activists of the banned militant outfit JMB from northern district of Pabna.

Besides, two madrasa students held with firearms in May were awarded 25 years rigorous imprisonment by a court in southern district of Gopalganj today.

Additional district and sessions judge handed down the punishment to Raihan and Billal, students of Jameya Rashidia Enayetul Ulm Madrasa in Dhaka City.

Police arrested them on May 22 with a light gun along with 8 rounds of bullets. They were prosecuted under the Arms Act.

On August 17, JMB militants staged simultaneous bombings in 63 district headquarters and again on October 3 in three districts targeting the courts and civil administrative buildings.

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Flight Daily News: 20/11/05

German rail giant Deutsche Bahn has agreed to acquire the US logistics firm BAX Global, whose businesses include air freight transportation, for $1.1 billion.BAX Global, located in Irvine, California, is one of three operating units of the Virginia-based business and security company Brink’s, and employs about 12,000 personnel.

Its air transport services are operated by sister company Air Transport International, another Brink’s subsidiary, which has its main hub in Toledo. Air Transport International is being sold to US company Cargo Holdings International to facilitate the sale.

Peter Fox, Cargo Holdings chairman, president and chief executive, says the sale of Air Transport International to Cargo Holdings is “going to happen simultaneously” with the sale of BAX to Deutsche Bahn.

The deal includes 18 McDonnell Douglas DC-8s operated by Air Transport International. Financial terms are not being disclosed.
Confirming that Deutsche Bahn will not become the temporary owner of Air Transport International during the transaction, Fox says the carrier “will never be owned by a European entity”.

Michael Dan, Brink’s chairman, president and chief executive, also stressed that distinction during a conference call to discuss the BAX sale, noting that the law prohibits a foreign-based purchaser owning a US airline.

Cargo Holdings was formed in 1999 and owns Orlando, Florida-based Capital Cargo International.
The main deal involves Deutsche Bahn taking the entire share capital of BAX Global. The German rail firm has annual revenues of €24 billion ($28 billion) – about 12 times that of BAX Global – and a logistics operation with revenues of €11.6 billion.

Deutsche Bahn board chairman Hartmut Mehdorn says: “BAX fits our strategy precisely and complements our own logistics daughter company.
“With these two companies Deutsche Bahn is now one of the most prominent transport and logistics businesses worldwide.”
The rail firm says that it will develop its position in the air freight sector as a result of the agreement, building on its present position as fifth in the world in terms of market share.

Brink’s says the sale will enable the US company to concentrate entirely on its security-related services. It plans to use the $900 million proceeds from the sale to reduce debt and repurchase shares.

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The Times: November 21, 2005
From Charles Bremner in Paris

RAIL travellers in France face severe delays from tonight as workers begin a national strike against attempts to reform the SNCF railways and what the unions see as government plans to privatise the state enterprise.

Only one domestic train in three is expected to run when the stoppage takes effect at 8pm, but the Eurostar link with London and the Thalys train to and from Brussels should be operating a near-normal service.

Four leading unions called the sixth SNCF walkout this year in protest against restructuring, job cuts, pay conditions and what they see as the creeping privatisation of the train operator.

A promise by Dominique Perben, the Transport Minister, that the SNCF would never be privatised, failed to deter the unions from stopping work. Although the strike is open-ended, the Government was counting on most railway workers resuming work on Wednesday because enthusiasm among staff for a long stoppage is said to be low.

They are protesting against what they see as preparations to sell off part of the SNCF after the company announced a restructuring plan that would divide it into four operating units. They also want pay rises and improvements to working conditions.

The CGT, the biggest and most powerful union, has also lodged notice of a strike on Wednesday on the Paris RATP, which operates the Metro underground system and bus services in the capital.

Louis Gallois, the chief executive of the SNCF, said yesterday that it was “absurd” to think the company would be sold off, because it was running at a profit, although he admitted that freight operations remained fragile.

“This strike, if it lasts, could deliver a heavy blow to freight,” he said. The SNCF needs approval from the European Commission to draw on a third bout of state aid for the freight service worth £300 million. Brussels will not approve if the 2005 results do not conform to targets in the SNCF’s restructuring plan.

Workers across France’s huge state sector have been protesting and striking in recent years to block attempts to reform public services. On Saturday several thousand protesters marched against the supposed dismantling of public services. At the same time private investors were rushing to buy a share in EDF, the state power company, which is undergoing a partial flotation on the stock exchange today.

Five million individuals have applied for shares in the partial privatisation, which is expected to bring in £5 billion. The unions had fought the partial sell-off, staging months of strikes.

The Government has promised to retain a majority of the EDF holding, but the unions and the Left are sceptical because similar promises were made about France Telecom and Air France, both of which are now majority private.

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Rail News: 20 Nov 2005

A WEEK after a motorist died when his car was hit by a train in Norfolk, Network Rail has revealed that 40 fatalities have occurred on level crossings in the past year — and that 18 of them appeared to be suicides.

But a plan to enable Network Rail to close some of some crossings, or to make local authorities improve road safety measures, is being opposed by the government.

According to a report in The Observer newspaper, the government will oppose four amendments to the road safety bill — to be put to the House of Lords this week — that would give powers to Network Rail.

This decision was attacked by Lord Berkeley, the Labour peer who introduced the amendments. “If the government doesn't accept this it will be blamed for more accidents,” he said. “Level crossings are the largest cause of death on the railway [but these] accidents are 100 per cent caused by road traffic.”

Network Rail told The Observer that if given new powers it would seek to close dozens of the country's 8,000 level crossings. One of those would be Ufton Nervet, on the Great Western mainline in Berkshire, where seven people were killed a year ago when a driver halted on a crossing, apparently deliberately, as a 100 mph train approached his car.

Last week a motorist was killed in his car on a similar half-barrier crossing at Swainsthorpe, south of Norwich. Witnesses said the motorist had waited more than 25 minutes for the train to arrive before driving his Ford Escort directly into its path.

The impact forced the car a quarter of a mile along the track, reducing it to a tangled wreck, but unlike the incident at Ufton Nervet the ‘one’ train on the Norwich line was not derailed.

Among the powers sought by Network Rail, the company wants to be able to make local authorities improve road safety around dozens more crossings in the short term, and “hundreds” in the longer term, reported The Observer. Measures would include installing cameras and raising central strips to stop cars dodging around barriers.

Currently local authorities can choose whether to make recommended road improvements near crossings and Network Rail claims most refuse. “Unless they are compelled to they won't because they don't see the level crossings as their risk to manage,” said Chris Rumfitt, Network Rail's head of external communications.

Among other measures in the amendments put forward by Lord Berkley would be increasing the maximum penalty for ignoring red lights and barriers from three to six points, plus a £1,000 fine.

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TUC: 18 November 2005

The Northern TUC supports the Rail Maritime and Transport Union campaign to prevent service reductions as a result of the Review.

Under this year's Railways Act the Government will assume responsibility for the Strategic Rail Authority's Review of service and fare levels in the Northern Rail Franchise.

The Northern TUC supports the Rail Maritime and Transport Union campaign to prevent service reductions as a result of the Review.

Reports have led to speculation that as a result of the review off-peak rail services could be replaced by buses, and that there could also be station and line closures, leading to job losses and a reduced service.

Kevin Rowan, Northern TUC Regional Secretary said, 'Transport is a major social, economic and political issue right now in this region. Good quality, frequent and accessible public transport systems are essential for putting employment opportunities within reach of our communities and are vital in supporting efforts to tackle climate change.

'The Government should use its powers under the Railways Bill to oppose any reductions in service, line or station closures.'

The Northern TUC will be urging all of the North's MPs to sign Early Day Motion 351 on Northern Rail Services.

Stan Herschel, RMT Regional Officer added, "It is now time to regulate transport in a fashion that meets the needs of the travelling public and that this should be by way of total inclusion for all concerned. Bus, light rail and heavy rail should complement one another and not compete. The only way to reduce the use of cars, and therefore reduce congestion and be environmentally friendly is to give the population what it wants; affordable, reliable, and regular modes of travel run on a commercially viable basis."

The Northern TUC will be urging all of the North's MPs to sign Early Day Motion 351 on Northern Rail Services.

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TUC: 18 November 2005

The Northern TUC supports the Rail Maritime and Transport Union campaign to prevent service reductions as a result of the Review.

Under this year's Railways Act the Government will assume responsibility for the Strategic Rail Authority's Review of service and fare levels in the Northern Rail Franchise.

The Northern TUC supports the Rail Maritime and Transport Union campaign to prevent service reductions as a result of the Review.

Reports have led to speculation that as a result of the review off-peak rail services could be replaced by buses, and that there could also be station and line closures, leading to job losses and a reduced service.

Kevin Rowan, Northern TUC Regional Secretary said, 'Transport is a major social, economic and political issue right now in this region. Good quality, frequent and accessible public transport systems are essential for putting employment opportunities within reach of our communities and are vital in supporting efforts to tackle climate change.

'The Government should use its powers under the Railways Bill to oppose any reductions in service, line or station closures.'

The Northern TUC will be urging all of the North's MPs to sign Early Day Motion 351 on Northern Rail Services.

Stan Herschel, RMT Regional Officer added, "It is now time to regulate transport in a fashion that meets the needs of the travelling public and that this should be by way of total inclusion for all concerned. Bus, light rail and heavy rail should complement one another and not compete. The only way to reduce the use of cars, and therefore reduce congestion and be environmentally friendly is to give the population what it wants; affordable, reliable, and regular modes of travel run on a commercially viable basis."

The Northern TUC will be urging all of the North's MPs to sign Early Day Motion 351 on Northern Rail Services.

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RMT Parliamentary Group: 18th November, 2005

On the eve of the 18th anniversary of the Kings Cross disaster, there is widespread support in Parliament for the campaign being launched today (Friday 18th November) to protect essential fire safety regulations on the London underground.

Next Saturday MPs will join the joint union national demonstration outside Kings Cross station to protest against the Government’s plans to scrap the current legal obligations for fire safety procedures in underground stations.

Andrew Dismore MP, Chair of the FBU Parliamentary Group, said:

“18 years ago in my previous life as a trades union lawyer, I represented the injured and bereaved of the King' Cross fire. I visited the station days after, and I will never forget the sights and smells I encountered. As I sat through the 93 day public inquiry chaired by Sir Desmond Fennell, I became increasingly horrified by the revelations of an ever growing catalogue of safety failures.”

“The inquiry's recommendations were acted upon for good reasons - reasons which remain as relevant today as they were then, particularly in the light of the increased terrorism threat.”

“Safety on the Underground must not be compromised and must remain the top priority.”

MPs have also been amazed to learn that from answers to recent parliamentary questions that the Government does not appear to know where the current regulations are in force or where exemptions to them are applied

John McDonnell MP, Chair of the RMT Parliamentary Group, said:

“The lack of proper analysis is scandalous. We will be using every parliamentary device again to highlight the risk to the travelling public and the workers in underground stations inherent in these ill thought out proposals.”

“After July nobody in their right minds would be seeking to reduce safety measures on the tube.”

“We shall be demanding an early debate on the floor of the House to force the Government to address these serious concerns.”

Mick Clapham, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Fire Safety & Rescue Group, said:

“It is vital that these regulations are maintained and that everything possible is done to protect passengers and ensure public safety.”

Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington, said:

“This campaign is critically important. The removal of these safeguards would be seen by the travelling public as dangerous and reckless. The Government needs to think again and ensure the continued safety of the workers and passengers on all sub surface railways".

-ends-

Note for Editors:

Hansard: 7th November 2005

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 402W on railways (fire regulations), if he will seek from local fire and rescue authorities the number of railway stations and premises in their areas covered by the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989. [23939]

Jim Fitzpatrick: In the answer to my hon. Friend on 10 October, the latest figures reported by the Fire and Rescue Service at that time showed that 168 such premises are known in England and Wales in 2003-04. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has subsequently been informed by the Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service that they do not have a sub surface railway station. The revised number is therefore 167. These are in each area as follows:

Premises in England and Wales subject to enforcement under the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989

Fire and Rescue Service Number
London 160
Merseyside 5
South Wales 1
West Midlands 1

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 402W, on railways (fire regulations), how many of the premises covered by the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989 in 2003-04 were (a) metro or underground stations and premises and (b) national heavy rail stations and premises. [23940]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The statistics the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister receives from local fire and rescue authorities do not differentiate between (a) metro or underground stations and premises, nor (b) national heavy rail stations and premises

Hansard: 10th November 2005
John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what requests for exemptions to the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989 have been made under regulation 12 of the regulations since 1989. [26555]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not keep such records centrally, nor do we require fire and rescue authorities to supply any to us.

For More Info:
Simeon Andrews: 07984 401 032 / 020 7219 4100

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RMT: 18 November 2005

EXACTLY EIGHTEEN years after the King’s Cross fire, Britain’s rail and firefighting unions will today launch a joint campaign to keep in place essential fire-safety regulations for sub-surface stations that were introduced after the 1987 disaster that claimed 31 lives.

RMT, ASLEF and the Fire Brigades Union have called a national demonstration at King’s Cross on November 26 to highlight the threat to public safety posed by plans to abolish the ‘Section 12’ regulations that prescribe safety standards for sub-surface stations all over Britain

The regulations stipulate minimum safe staffing levels, means of detecting and warning of fires and means of escape and firefighting, as well as standards of fire-resistant construction, training and various other precautions, which are not specified in the Fire Safety Order the government wants to replace them with.

“The government must not replace the current regulations until they can guarantee the same level of safety for the public, rail staff and emergency services. If they cannot it would be a serious blow to public safety,” FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said today.
“The essential elements of the current regulations must be maintained. We need guarantees there would be effective enforcement to underpin any safety regime,” Matt Wrack said.

“The Fennell report into the 1987 Kings Cross fire found that these minimum standards were necessary, and in today’s climate they are even more essential now,” said RMT general secretary Bob Crow.

 “We have already beaten off one attempt to abolish the ‘Section 12’ regulations and we are now seeking a simple, unequivocal commitment from the government that these sensible and effective measures will be kept in place,” Bob Crow said.

“Without these enforceable minimum standards operators will be invited to cut corners and compromise fire-safety, and it is simply not good enough for them to be replaced with what amount to discretionary measures,” said ASLEF general secretary Keith Norman.

“We are asking the government to step back once and for all from this ill-thought-out plan, and not simply postpone it once more. The fact that they are considering it at all shows an appalling lack of respect to the victims of King’s Cross,” Keith Norman said.

“These regulations are there to protect passengers and rail staff alike, and it is in all our interests to support the campaign to keep them in place,” said Mick Connolly, secretary of the TUC’s Southern and Eastern region.

“Everyone who cares about fire-safety on our rail networks should support next Saturday’s demonstration at King’s Cross,” Mick Connolly said.

“We will be using every parliamentary device again to highlight the risk to the travelling public and workers in underground stations,” said John McDonnell, MP.

“After July nobody in their right minds would be seeking to reduce safety measures on the Tube. We shall be demanding an early debate on the floor of the House to ensure that the government addresses these serious concerns,” John McDonnell said.

Andrew Dismore MP, Chair of the FBU Parliamentary Group, said: “18 years ago in my previous life as a trades union lawyer, I represented the injured and bereaved of the King' Cross fire. I visited the station days after, and I will never forget the sights and smells I encountered. As I sat through the 93 day public inquiry chaired by Sir Desmond Fennell, I became increasingly horrified by the revelations of an ever growing catalogue of safety failures.

“The inquiry's recommendations were acted upon for good reasons - reasons which remain as relevant today as they were then, particularly in the light of the increased terrorism threat.

“Safety on the Underground must not be compromised and must remain the top priority.”

Mick Clapham, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Fire Safety & Rescue Group, said:  “It is vital that these regulations are maintained and that everything possible is done to protect passengers and ensure public safety.”

Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington, said: “This campaign is critically important.  The removal of these safeguards would be seen by the travelling public as dangerous and reckless. The Government needs to think again and ensure the continued safety of the workers and passengers on all sub surface railways".

ends

Notes to editors: The 1989 Regulations make up Section 12 of the Fire Precautions Act 1971, and were added on the recommendation of the Fennell Report into the 1987 King’s Cross fire. They cover ‘sub-surface stations’ throughout Britain, including those on underground systems in Glasgow, Tyne and Wear and London, but also national rail stations which are ‘sub-surface’, including Birmingham New Street, London’s Charing Cross and several in Liverpool. The government’s Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2004, as originally drafted, would have repealed the 1971 Act, and with it the Section 12 regulations.

The government’s first move to scrap the 1989 regulations – which lay down minimum staffing levels and other safety standards for sub-surface stations – was opposed by the House of Commons’ Regulatory Reform Committee in October 2004, following an intervention by RMT parliamentary group convenor John McDonnell. The relevant part of the committee’s report is attached.

The government has subsequently said it would repeal the regulations in April 2006, but most recently indicated that it would do so six to 12 months after the Fire Safety Order comes into force. However, the Fire Safety Order and guidance do not give the same statutory protections as in the 1989 Regulations, specifically on:

* Means of escape
* Means of fighting fire
* Means of detection and giving warning
* Fire-resistant construction
* Instruction and training
* Keeping of records
* Additional precautions including practicable steps to prevent smoking, and staffing levels.

Parliamentary Early Day Motion 549, tabled by John MacDonnell after the London bombings and signed to date by 45 MPs, also follows:

EDM 549 - Fire Precautions Regulations

In the name of John McDonnell and 45 others:

That this House condemns the terrorist attacks on London's public transport network and commends the bravery and professionalism of the emergency services, London Underground, national rail network and London bus service workers who were on hand to provide assistance and support in the immediate aftermath of the attacks; notes that the Government is set to review the Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989, introduced following the Fennell Report into the 1987 King's Cross Fire disaster; further notes that the Regulations set out minimum standards for fire precautions in sub-surface railway stations including means of escape, means of fighting fire, minimum staffing levels and staff instruction and training; believes that these minimum standards are even more essential in light of the recent terrorist attacks; and calls on the Government to retain in full the 1989 Regulations.

Extract from the Commons Regulatory Reform Committee report on the draft Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2004

Regulations under section 12 of the 1971 Act

120. The proposed Order would revoke the Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989[83] ("the 1989 Regulations"), which set minimum standards for fire precautions to apply at sub-surface stations. The 1989 Regulations are made under section 12 of the Fire Precautions Act 1971, and were brought into force as a result of the Fennell Report on the fire disaster at King's Cross underground station in November 1988. Article 24 of the draft Order would give the Secretary of State a similar power to make regulations to deal with fire safety on particular categories of premises.

121. We received a representation expressing concern that the draft Order would remove the minimum safety standards which presently apply to sub-surface railway stations "and instead allow management the freedom to risk assess fire safety measures":

It is unclear to . . . London Underground users and employees how such a measure will improve fire safety on the Underground and indeed there are fears that without minimum standards corners will be cut and safety compromised. [84]

We therefore asked the Department whether it had plans to make regulations under article 24 of the draft Order to provide for fire safety in sub-surface railway stations, whether such regulations, if any, would replicate the provisions of the 1989 Regulations, and how the recommendations of the Fennell Report would be continued under the proposed Order.

122. The Department has stated in response that it has no plans to make separate regulations for fire safety in sub-surface railway stations.[85] As a result of its consultation with enforcing bodies and others, it has come to the view that the provisions of the draft Order, when taken together with the Railway (Safety Case) Regulations 2000 ("the 2000 Regulations"),[86] enforced by the Health and Safety Executive, will continue all necessary protection implemented by the 1989 Regulations. It notes that the 1989 Regulations are "highly prescriptive", although the enforcing authority is allowed some discretion.

123. The Department considers that all the necessary protection which is provided by the implementation of the Fennell Report recommendations (by means of the 1989 Regulations) would be continued by the effect of the draft Order and the 2000 Regulations, although it has identified an aspect of the 2000 Regulations which would be limited by the operation of the draft Order and intends to make an appropriate amendment to the Order. The Department has indicated that the requirement in the 1989 Regulations which provides that shifts shall be arranged so that two people are at work at all times when the public are present[87] may be relaxed by the fire authority at its discretion.[88] In addition, the Department considers that the requirement for there to be sufficient staff to implement the fire safety arrangements is carried forward by articles 11, 15 and 18 of the draft Order.

Our assessment

124. The particular concern over the potential loss of protection from the revocation of the 1989 Regulations was raised with us only after we had taken oral evidence from the Minister. In the limited time available to us, we have not had the opportunity to make a thorough assessment of the 1989 Regulations and the degree to which the protections contained in them are continued in the draft Order and the 2000 Regulations. We are nevertheless concerned that the high level of protection contained in the 1989 Regulations, reflecting the unique nature of fire risks in sub-surface railway stations, should be continued.

125. Given the nature of sub-surface railway stations, and the substantial numbers of relevant persons who use them each day, there must be a very strong public interest in ensuring their safety from fire. It does not appear to us that the operation of the Regulations places a disproportionate burden on the management of sub-surface railway stations, and it has not yet been demonstrated that fire safety in such stations would be enhanced by the removal of the 1989 Regulations in favour of the risk-based regime contemplated in the proposed Order. We have also received no indication that any guidance will be issued to indicate what fire safety provisions should be made for sub-surface railway stations under the proposed Order.

126. In our view the Department has not yet made a convincing case for the revocation of the 1989 Regulations. The Regulations do impose a prescriptive regime for fire safety in underground stations which we recognise is not in keeping with the goal-based approach which the Department wishes to take in the proposed Order: but the draft Order itself makes provision for the imposition of similar regimes through regulations under article 24.

127. We consider that the provisions of the Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989 constitute necessary protections. On the evidence presently before us, we are not convinced that the provisions will be adequately carried forward under the general provisions of the draft Order and the Railway (Safety Case) Regulations 2000, as amended. We consider that the provisions of the Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989 should remain in force. We therefore recommend that Schedule 5 to the draft Order be amended to remove the references to the Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989, the Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) (Amendment) Regulations 1991 and the Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) (Amendment) Regulations 1994.

128. We note that once the Order is in force the Secretary of State may make regulations under article 24 which would revoke the 1989 Regulations. Any decision to keep the 1989 Regulations, as amended, in force beyond the entry into force of the draft Order is therefore by no means irrevocable.

129. Another solution might be the provision of guidance by the Secretary of State on the operation of fire safety requirements in sub-surface railway stations. We note that London Underground Limited, in its response to the consultation on the proposal, stressed the need for guidance on implementation of the proposed Order.[89] Such guidance could include all the elements of protection prescribed in the 1989 Regulations.

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BRIDGWATER TRADES UNION COUNCIL: 17th November 2005
PRESS RELEASE

At its November meeting delegates to the Bridgwater Trades Union Council agreed to call for the immediate setting up of a campaign to defend the town’s NHS Health Services, under the auspices of the Town’s Mayor, Bill Monteith.

Secretary: Dave Chapple, 1 Blake Place, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 5AU.
Telephone: 01278.450562. E-Mail: dave@davechapple3.wanadoo.co.uk

"The principle of the campaign should be to ensure that all current Bridgwater NHS hospital services should be retained to AT LEAST their current level, especially maternity and emergency /accident services, with NO LOSS of beds.

"The campaign should also oppose any Private Finance Initiative to build a new hospital. If the Somerset Coast Primary Care Trust wishes to mortgage Bridgwater taxpayers money and future health care to profit-obsessed large businesses, that should only prove to locals that our "Trust" may be interested in "Value For Money", but they are certainly NOT concerned with "Value for Patients"!

Indeed, can our "Primary Care Trust" be trusted ?

Delegate Dave Chapple, a local postman from the Communication Workers’ Union, had this to say:

"Health Authorities have been obsessed with running down Bridgwater heath care, and transferring services and specialist staff to Taunton, for at least 20 years. People might be surprised to hear that back in 1947, a year BEFORE the NHS was established, Bridgwater Hospital had 72 beds, and that did not include the Mary Stanley and the Blake/Northgate hospitals. There was also a full range of specialist services. Compare that with today, let alone the "Brave New World" of the proposed new hospital. Let me spell out what the Care Trust would like to get away with, if we let them:

First: an 8-bed post-natal unit, which is unviable, and would close completely within 2 years of opening.

Second: a 12 hour minor accident unit, instead of the full 24-hour emergency unit staffed by doctors.

Third: a huge reduction of beds. The Care Trust will SAY that "Improved Patient Throughputs" will allow for this, but that is nonsense; the reasons are to do with cost cutting-less beds, less nursing staff, less cleaning staff, less materials to buy in. Health Care on the cheap!

Fourth: recommending a new site, which will then give the care trust a perfect excuse to bring in a "Private Finance Initiative" build, which we will still be paying for the 30 years time. Question for Bridgwater people, what is the best known PFI project in Somerset? Answer: the Bath Spa project, a multi-million pound farcical failure which Bath people are still paying the builders for, even though it is far from ready for opening!"

Dave ended by saying: "No new hospital if it is to be privately-run and privately-built; better to keep the hospital we have now!"

Bridgwater Trades Unionists are hoping that the town mayor, as well as a wide variety of local people and organisations, will waste no time to set this campaign up."

11.30am, Thursday 17th November 2005.

For further info, please contact Dave Chapple via the details above.

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