The East African: January 30 - February 5, 2006

The fear now is that the bad blood between Sheltham and its partners may precipitate undercurrents and spill over into lengthy litigation in both countries, writes JAINDI KISERO.

New evidence has emerged of how a bitter dispute between Sheltham Rail of South Africa and its partners in the Rift Valley Consortium almost scuttled last Monday's signing of the agreement for the concessioning of the Kenya Railways Corporation.

The EastAfrican has learnt that only two days before Transport Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere and the South African company signed the contract sealing the deal, a major disagreement arose between Sheltham Rail Ltd on the one hand and Mirambo Holdings and Prime Fuels Ltd on the other, over the terms of a shareholders' agreement that the parties were supposed to have concluded before sealing the agreement with the government. Mirambo and Prime Fuels thereupon pulled out of the consortium.

According to the original arrangement, Mirambo and Prime Fuels between them held 25 per cent of the shareholding of the consortium; while Sheltham and Comazar Ltd, both controlled by a South African businessman, Roy Puffet, between them had 71 per cent (Sheltham 61 per cent and Comazar 10 per cent). 

The third shareholder in the company was CDIO Institute of Africa Development Trust of South Africa with 4 per cent.

Prime Fuels and Mirambo are Tanzanian companies. They agreed to part ways with Sheltham at midnight on Friday, January 20.

Curiously, this major change in the ownership of the consortium was not disclosed during the sealing of the deal.

In a conversation with The EastAfrican, Vishal Agarwal, the transaction adviser, played down the significance of the pullout by these two critical members of the consortium, pointing out that Sheltham, which is the lead investor in the transaction, is capable of delivering the deal.

He explained that the arrangement all along was that the structuring of the ownership was the responsibility of the lead investor.

Still, the pullout by the two major partners means the running of the strategic utility has been ceded to a group controlled by one individual ? Mr Puffet.

It has also left the privatisation open to accusations of being without the participation of local investors.

Speaking to The EastAfrican, Javier Calvo, who represents the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in the transaction, insisted that the threshold for local ownership stipulated in the bid documents had not been breached.

He argued that both Mirambo and Prime Fuels Ltd had presented themselves as local companies, while they cannot technically qualify to be described as Kenyan companies.

"These are companies owned by offshore outlets that cannot be treated as local investors," he argued.

It now remains to be seen how the signing of the deal in Kenya impacts on the agreement with Uganda, which is still stuck in court.

The fear is that the bad blood between Sheltham and its partners may precipitate undercurrents and spill over into lengthy litigation in both Kenya and Uganda.

This is why it should be no surprise that the parties were not even willing to wait for the conclusion of the case that Kenya Railways pensioners have filed against the deal.

Indeed, the signing of the deal between Mr Puffet and Mr Mwakwere was concluded with lightning speed, with the parties exploiting a legal loophole to proceed with the ceremony.

It all started on Wednesday the week before Transport Permanent Secretary Gerishon Ikiara hurriedly convened a meeting to discuss how to circumvent a court case that had been lodged by Kenya Railways pensioners against the management deal.

Those who attended say that when the meeting started, the lawyer for the transaction, Prof Albert Mumma, was the first to be invited to address it.

After taking the meeting through what had transpired in the High Court of Kenya, Prof Mumma pointed out that although the date for hearing the pensioners case had been extended, the injunction halting the process had not.

He concluded therefore that there was nothing to prevent the government and the Kenya Railways Corporation from signing the agreement. 

This position was also supported by Deputy Solicitor-General Muthoni Kimani, who was also in attendance.

Mr Calvo informed the meeting that he had been in touch with Sheltham, who had indicated that they were in principle ready to sign the agreement immediately the government confirmed its willingness to do so.

He also reported that the South African investors had expressed concern that the court case had increased the risk profile of the contract considerably, pointing out that there was now a greater likelihood that other suits could materialise to frustrate efforts to close the deal.

He reportedly informed the meeting that Sheltham was working on a possible handover date of June 15 this year ? that is if Uganda will have signed its agreements by February 26.

Mr Calvo reported a discussion he had had with a senior Treasury official who had reportedly suggested the possibility of delinking the Kenya and Uganda concessions in order to have closure in Kenya in case there was an unforeseen delay in Uganda.

With everybody having agreed that the way to go was to sign quickly, the Treasury representative at the meeting advanced a different view.

According to those who attended the meeting, the Director of Reforms at the Treasury, Solomon Kitungu, said that signing the agreement hurriedly was not a solution because there was nothing to stop the parties from going to court to stop the signing of the interface agreement.

Mr Kitungu insisted that rushing the signing of the contract was likely to embarrass the government, arguing that it was likely to give the impression that the government was not acting in good faith in the proceedings before the court.

He reportedly also told the meeting that a hurried sealing of the deal was likely to create resistance among workers.

Finally, he reported to the meeting that PricewaterhouseCoopers had expressed reservations, saying that Sheltham would be forced to pay fees to IFC if the agreement were signed before the effective date.

According to the agreement signed last week, Sheltham will be required to pay the government an entry fee of $3 million that is to be paid as follows:

First, $1.85 million will be payable to the Kenya Railways at closing of the deal.

Second, $1.15 million will be paid on behalf of Kenya Railways to IFC, which is the transaction adviser to the government.

After they take over, the South Africans will pay a variable annual concession fee to KRC, which is to be computed as a percentage of gross revenue at the start of each year, adjusted for inflation.

Other conditions of the contract include a requirement that Sheltham invest at least $5 million per financial year in providing the services.

In addition, Sheltham has an obligation to move 1.8 billion net-tonne kilometres of freight by year two of the concession. By year five, it must move 2.6 billion net-tonne kilometres.

But the agreement allows Sheltham to breach these benchmarks so long as it can demonstrate that failure to meet the target was a direct result of circumstances beyond its control.

See also:

AllAfrica.com: January 31, 2006

Two Partners Walk Out of Kenya-Uganda Rail Operator

JAINDI KISERO
Nairobi

The EastAfrican has learnt that only two days before Transport Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere and the South African company signed the contract sealing the deal, a major disagreement arose between Sheltham Rail Ltd on the one hand and Mirambo Holdings and Prime Fuels Ltd on the other, over the terms of a shareholders' agreement that the parties were supposed to have concluded before sealing the agreement with the government. Mirambo and Prime Fuels thereupon pulled out of the consortium.

According to the original arrangement, Mirambo and Prime Fuels between them held 25 per cent of the shareholding of the consortium; while Sheltham and Comazar Ltd, both controlled by a South African businessman, Roy Puffet, between them had 71 per cent (Sheltham 61 per cent and Comazar 10 per cent).

The third shareholder in the company was CDIO Institute of Africa Development Trust of South Africa with 4 per cent.

Prime Fuels and Mirambo are Tanzanian companies. They agreed to part ways with Sheltham at midnight on Friday, January 20.

Curiously, this major change in the ownership of the consortium was not disclosed during the sealing of the deal.

In a conversation with The EastAfrican, Vishal Agarwal, the transaction adviser, played down the significance of the pullout by these two critical members of the consortium, pointing out that Sheltham, which is the lead investor in the transaction, is capable of delivering the deal.

He explained that the arrangement all along was that the structuring of the ownership was the responsibility of the lead investor.

Still, the pullout by the two major partners means the running of the strategic utility has been ceded to a group controlled by one individual - Mr Puffet.

It has also left the privatisation open to accusations of being without the participation of local investors.

Speaking to The EastAfrican, Javier Calvo, who represents the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in the transaction, insisted that the threshold for local ownership stipulated in the bid documents had not been breached.

He argued that both Mirambo and Prime Fuels Ltd had presented themselves as local companies, while they cannot technically qualify to be described as Kenyan companies.

"These are companies owned by offshore outlets that cannot be treated as local investors," he argued.

It now remains to be seen how the signing of the deal in Kenya impacts on the agreement with Uganda, which is still stuck in court.

The fear is that the bad blood between Sheltham and its partners may precipitate undercurrents and spill over into lengthy litigation in both Kenya and Uganda.

This is why it should be no surprise that the parties were not even willing to wait for the conclusion of the case that Kenya Railways pensioners have filed against the deal.

Indeed, the signing of the deal between Mr Puffet and Mr Mwakwere was concluded with lightning speed, with the parties exploiting a legal loophole to proceed with the ceremony.

It all started on Wednesday the week before Transport Permanent Secretary Gerishon Ikiara hurriedly convened a meeting to discuss how to circumvent a court case that had been lodged by Kenya Railways pensioners against the management deal.

Those who attended say that when the meeting started, the lawyer for the transaction, Prof Albert Mumma, was the first to be invited to address it.

After taking the meeting through what had transpired in the High Court of Kenya, Prof Mumma pointed out that although the date for hearing the pensioners case had been extended, the injunction halting the process had not.

He concluded therefore that there was nothing to prevent the government and the Kenya Railways Corporation from signing the agreement.

This position was also supported by Deputy Solicitor-General Muthoni Kimani, who was also in attendance.

Mr Calvo informed the meeting that he had been in touch with Sheltham, who had indicated that they were in principle ready to sign the agreement immediately the government confirmed its willingness to do so.

He also reported that the South African investors had expressed concern that the court case had increased the risk profile of the contract considerably, pointing out that there was now a greater likelihood that other suits could materialise to frustrate efforts to close the deal.

He reportedly informed the meeting that Sheltham was working on a possible handover date of June 15 this year - that is if Uganda will have signed its agreements by February 26.

Mr Calvo reported a discussion he had had with a senior Treasury official who had reportedly suggested the possibility of delinking the Kenya and Uganda concessions in order to have closure in Kenya in case there was an unforeseen delay in Uganda.

With everybody having agreed that the way to go was to sign quickly, the Treasury representative at the meeting advanced a different view.

According to those who attended the meeting, the Director of Reforms at the Treasury, Solomon Kitungu, said that signing the agreement hurriedly was not a solution because there was nothing to stop the parties from going to court to stop the signing of the interface agreement.

Mr Kitungu insisted that rushing the signing of the contract was likely to embarrass the government, arguing that it was likely to give the impression that the government was not acting in good faith in the proceedings before the court.

He reportedly also told the meeting that a hurried sealing of the deal was likely to create resistance among workers.

Finally, he reported to the meeting that PricewaterhouseCoopers had expressed reservations, saying that Sheltham would be forced to pay fees to IFC if the agreement were signed before the effective date.

According to the agreement signed last week, Sheltham will be required to pay the government an entry fee of $3 million that is to be paid as follows:

First, $1.85 million will be payable to the Kenya Railways at closing of the deal.

Second, $1.15 million will be paid on behalf of Kenya Railways to IFC, which is the transaction adviser to the government.

After they take over, the South Africans will pay a variable annual concession fee to KRC, which is to be computed as a percentage of gross revenue at the start of each year, adjusted for inflation.

Other conditions of the contract include a requirement that Sheltham invest at least $5 million per financial year in providing the services.

In addition, Sheltham has an obligation to move 1.8 billion net-tonne kilometres of freight by year two of the concession. By year five, it must move 2.6 billion net-tonne kilometres.

But the agreement allows Sheltham to breach these benchmarks so long as it can demonstrate that failure to meet the target was a direct result of circumstances beyond its control.

Posted on 06:51 PM | Permalink

Reuters: Jan 31, 2006

DURBAN - Cargo piled up and operations moved at a snail's pace at South Africa's two busiest ports on Tuesday, the second day of a strike in protest at the restructuring of state transport group Transnet, officials said.

The three-day strike at the state-owned company is due to end on Wednesday. It has been declared a complete success by union leaders who say nearly 10,000 workers heeded their call.

Unions said all their members at Durban's port, the biggest in Africa, downed tools while the nearby Richard's Bay Coal Terminal operated at only 30 percent capacity.

"It is a shutdown in Durban, 100 percent successful," Joseph Dube, spokesman for the main South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), told Reuters.

Transnet played down the impact, saying the Durban Container Terminal was still functioning.

"Capacity is at around 40 percent at the Durban Container Terminal," Transnet strategy and transformation executive Pradeep Maharaj told reporters in Johannesburg.

Analysts say the strike could cost the country about 100 million rand a day, hitting the crucial export sector that accounts for about a third of South Africa's gross domestic product.

Dube said all unions, and about 9,500 workers, linked to the rail and logistics group were on strike, adding disruptions would get worse should Transnet dismiss their concerns.

"There are ongoing talks but we have not reached a solution as of now. Transnet must guarantee the salaries and conditions of work for workers affected (by the restructuring)," he said.

Unions plan rolling strikes across South Africa and a national stayaway on March 6 should talks make no progress.

The unions are protesting against the restructuring of Transnet, which will see the disposal of non-core assets, and which unions claim will cost 30,000 jobs.

The government has denied there would be "massive" job losses.

"With regard to job losses, I want to reiterate this: the restructuring of Transnet, for us that means exiting non-core businesses, will not result in job losses," Maharaj said.

Transnet plans to focus on its ports, freight rail and pipelines business, selling off non-core assets to help revitalise the company and push economic growth to 6 percent from the current 4 percent by 2010 through massive infrastructure projects.

Posted on 06:42 PM | Permalink

Daily News: January 30, 2006
By Kuben Chetty, Boyd Webb and Sapa

Durban's train services were severely disrupted on Monday morning as four unions went on strike as the disagreement over Transnet's restructuring intensified.

Railway stations were quieter than usual with many empty platforms but with many more police officers in evidence. A police spokesperson said there were no reports of intimidation.

South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu) general secretary Randall Howard called the strike a success saying that it had crippled the ports of Durban and Richards Bay.

'Keeping a close eye on the situation'He said Metrorail services had been severely affected. He said: "Metrorail has conceded that they are running below par and are using 53 buses to transport their commuters to and from work."

The Durban and Richards Bay ports were running at 60 percent and 50 percent capacity respectively on Monday as unions embarked on a strike at Transnet.

"We're running at 60 percent service in the Durban container terminal. In Richards Bay it's around 50 percent, according to the preliminary report," spokesperson John Dludlu said.

The company had a "very comprehensive" contingency plan which would raise capacity during the course of the day.

Workers at the two ports were attempting to march beyond agreed-upon picketing lines. In Richards Bay workers were trying to march through the terminal.

No reports of intimidation"We're talking to them about where to picket," Dludlu said.

Commuter trains in the Durban area were running at 30 percent of capacity because of the strike by Transnet's train drivers, Metrorail said.

"There are disruptions in Durban. We are providing about 53 buses, but that can never be enough, so we are asking commuters to consider other forms of transport," Metrorail spokesperson Thandi Mlangeni said.

She said train services in other provinces were not affected.

The United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu) said about 15 200 workers from all four unions involved in the dispute over restructuring were on strike at both ports.

"We're 100 percent satisfied (with the strike). There are very few trains and very little operations in the harbours," Utatu spokesman Steve Harris said.

"The workers are united, they will not capitulate at this point."

The effects of the strike and future action have reached into the highest echelons of government, which is extremely concerned about the rolling mass action by Transnet workers on Monday that threatens to bring harbours and rail transport in KwaZulu-Natal to a standstill.

Public Enterprises minister Alec Erwin was, however, still confident Transnet's management team knew what they were doing.

"Minister Erwin is keeping a close eye on the situation and is confident that the Transnet management team is handling the situation appropriately. He believes the management team is highly capable of exercising good judgment and supports them," said public enterprises spokesperson Gaynor Kast.

Monday's action was the result of union unhappiness of the parastatal s proposed restructuring, which they fear will cause massive job losses.

But despite their bitterness, Erwin on Monday firmly placed his weight behind the proposed changes urging that parastatal's proceed with requisite speed .

In response the unions kicked off their programme of rolling mass action this morning in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.

It was expected to last for one day in the Free State and three days in KwaZulu-Natal where the strike was expected to culminate in a march in Durban on February 1.

SA Transport and Allied Workers Union spokesperson Randall Howard predicted Durban's container terminal and the port at Richard s Bay would be the worst affected but that rail and commuter services would also take strain as workers downed tools.

The war between management and union bosses moved to the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Monday as South African Airways (SAA) desperately tried to declare the involvement of its workers illegal.

SAA lodged an urgent application claiming the airline was not officially part of Transnet's bargaining council any more and as such any workers participating would not be protected and thus subject to dismissal.

But Howard argued that while they may not be part of the bargaining council they were still part of Transnet.

Part of the restructuring process involves SAA being moved out of the Transnet stable to an independent company.

"Our view is obviously the opposite and will oppose the application in the Labour Court today that seeks to deny thousand of our members the right to strike," Howard said on Monday morning.

Howard hoped the courtroom battle would finish by Wednesday to allow SAA workers time to express their grievances about the transformation process.

He warned if the dispute was not resolved shortly, the mass action would spread to other provinces affecting the Eastern Cape on February 13, Western Cape on February 14 and Gauteng on February 20.

"Should the dispute still not be resolved, the unions will recommend a national strike on March 6," Howard said.

Erwin was said to be keeping a very close eye on developments.

"Both the Chairman of the Board, Mr Fred Phaswana, and the CEO of Transnet, Ms Maria Ramos, are in constant contact with Minister of Public Enterprises, Alec Erwin, keeping him abreast of developments," Kast said.

Transnet is the holding company for Spoornet, Petronet, Metrorail and the National Ports Authority. The strike will also affect other ports and freight operations - hitting the export sector.

Unions say about 30 000 jobs will be lost in the restructuring. However, Erwin has dismissed this, saying workers were misinformed if they were told that thousands of jobs are at stake.

For commuters in Durban, the strike will mean trains will operate only in Umlazi, KwaMashu and Cato Ridge.

The trains will only run between peak times from 4am to 9am and from 2pm to 8pm.

Kwazulu-Natal Metrorail spokesperson Tozi Baloyi, said the decision to operate trains in certain areas was based on the number of staff that would work during the strike.

The remaining lines would be serviced by buses although preference would be given to weekly and monthly ticket holders.

"We advise other commuters to make alternative arrangements. As the situation improves we will review the situation," she said.

On the Umlazi and KwaMashu lines, trains will run at intervals of 45 minutes. KwaMashu trains will run only up to Berea Station, while Umlazi trains will run only up to Durban Station.

The Cato Ridge line trains will run from Cato Ridge to Rossburgh at two-hour intervals.

Buses will run from these areas:
* Kelso to Reunion.
* Crossmoor to Merebank.
* Pinetown to Rossburgh.
* Umgeni via Greenwood Park to Duffs Road.

* KwaDukuza to Duffs Road.

Posted on 05:14 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 31 January 2006

A £155m rail investment programme has been recommended to ease congestion on the south Wales and the valleys lines. The strategy looks at improving existing services and increasing use.

The proposals include up to 10 new stations, new trains and extra services over a 10-year period from 2009.

A consultants' report was backed by 10 local council representatives on Sewta (the South East Wales Transport Alliance).

It is expected to go to the Welsh Assembly Government for further consideration.

Jacobs Consultancy said that if demand for rail services continues at the current rate, new investment, especially for commuters from the south Wales valleys, will be needed.

Reliability

The new report is looking beyond the current five-year strategy, which includes a new passenger service between Ebbw Vale and Newport and new stations for Llanharan, Energlyn and Brackla.

The report points out that passengers are already experiencing problems on Arriva services in the Valleys, especially with reliability and getting a seat.

It is suggested that extra services and longer trains will be needed if demand continues to rise.

Proposals include:

* More frequent services for the Rhymney Valley, Taff Vale, new Ebbw Vale to Newport line, Abergavenny and Chepstow, and the Vale of Glamorgan
* More frequent and longer trains for peak times
* Five new stations at Caerleon, Magor, Llanwern, Coedkernew and St Mellons
* Look at possible line extensions to Ebbw Vale Town and from Pontyclun to Beddau with new stations including Talbot Green and Llantrisant.
* Bus links from stations to more remote communities

The Rail Passengers' Council Wales represents the interests of rail users and its director Clive Williams said the recommended investment was "excellent news" and "long overdue".

"There has been a 30% increase in patronage on the Valleys Line and this is very much in line with the recommendations," said Mr Williams.

He added that he wanted to see the programme implemented as rapidly as possible and said it followed the Welsh Assembly Government's commitment to sustainable transport.

The study looks towards EU Objective One money for reducing the capital cost, private finance partnerships for some stations, as well as increasing the rail subsidy of between £2m-£7m a year.

Sewta's board said it had agreed to "commission further technical, economic, demand and specific development work in preparation for its implementation".

Posted on 02:14 PM | Permalink

RMT: January 26 2006

Nominations are now being invited for the positions of "Area Organisers" on EWS. These are the equivalent of Company Council Representatives.

There are eight seats in total, one for each of the EWS areas as follows:

Scotland & Borders
North West
North East
East Midlands
South Wales
LondonNorth & West Midlands
London South and Anglia
Western
Persons wishing to stand as EWS Area Organisers must:

Normally have a minimum of 12 months employment with EWS(I)
Be currently working within the constituency in question
Be a member of RMT
Be able to obtain supporting signatures of five nominators from the constituency in question.

Nomination materials have been sent to all Branch Secretaries. Please note that the period of office will last until December 31, 2007.

Posted on 02:02 PM | Permalink

RMT: January 25 2006

Company proposes massive productivity for drivers at huge cost.

Bogus information is being circulated to Traincrew Staff claiming that RMT has been party to negotiations for a new Traincrew productivity deal and has given its agreement to a proposal document which is being put to a vote of ASLEF members.

This proposal document, if accepted by ASLEF members, will have serious implications for Groundstaff and Engineering Staff members. Many, many more jobs will go in both grades to finance this deal. RMT believes it will also create an untenable and overburdened working environment for Train Drivers at the expense of other workmates' jobs.

RMT has not been party to the said negotiations but naturally we have not and would not agree to the proposal document on offer for the reasons given above.

Drivers are being asked to accept the following additional duties in exchange for a £35,000 salary as the first part of a two-year deal:

· Coupling / Uncoupling of Locomotives and Vehicles

· Operation of Hand-Points

· TOPS Reporting / Train Reporting

· Train Dispatch

· Train Preparation and Disposal including the use of SOLO Brake Testing Equipment

· Operate Remote Control Equipment

· Locomotive / Wagon Minor Repairs (eg Defective / Missing Interior / Exterior Lightbulbs, Brake Rubber Seals, Replenish Detonators, Replace Wiper Blades, Portable Fire Extinguisher, Tail / Portable Headlamps, Break Sticks)

· Enhanced Simplified Brake Continuity Test for all Vehicle/Coupling Types

· Cleaning of Locomotive Cabs and Windows

· Motor Vehicle Driving

· Replacement of Consumables on Locomotives (Sand, Fuel, Water, Coolant, Windscreen Washer Fluid, Lubricating Oil)

· Locomotive Weekly Safety Examinations. Traincrew will if required undertake a weekly safety exam in line with the relevant instructions for each Loco Class.

· Use of IT equipment as deemed appropriate by management.

RMT understands that ASLEF have put, or are about to put, this package to a vote of their EWS membership. As a consequence, RMT has written to the ASLEF General Secretary asking him to seek the sanction of his Executive Committee to postpone any such voting pending a meeting between all interested parties. RMT has also written to EWS seeking urgent talks on this as well as other urgent matters, these being the Yard Masters situation and the Procedural Agreements. Further information on this issue will follow as soon as the situation is clarified.

Posted on 01:59 PM | Permalink

RMT: January 30 2006

January 30 2006  FEARS OF wholesale rail closures and the replacement of trains with buses have been raised by the publication by the government of draft procedures for closures and 'modification' of the rail network, Britain's biggest rail union warns today.

"The government's stated aims are to increase rail use and protect the environment, but neither is served by making it easier to close rail lines and replace trains with buses," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"These draft guidelines will only fuel fears that rail policy is being determined by financial pressure from the Treasury rather than by strategic economic and environmental considerations.

"When the Railways Act was passed last year we warned that it would not solve the basic problems of rail privatisation and the fragmentation of our railways, and the joined-up thinking required is also missing from the draft closure guidelines.

"The government's own energy review warns that transport, not including air travel, is responsible for a quarter of all carbon emissions, yet the guidelines will allow decisions that will put even more traffic on already congested roads.

"The draft procedures will strip away even the flimsy safeguards that have been in place, such as the statutory responsibility of the Rail Passengers' Council to report on the hardship likely to be caused by closures, and there will also be no requirement to hold public hearings into proposed cuts.

"If the government wants to look at simple value for money, it would do well to look at the role of rolling-stock leasing companies making obscene profits out of renting out trains once publicly owned, and the £1 billion being drained out of the industry each year by the private sector.

"In the coming weeks we will be campaigning hard alongside our parliamentary colleagues to ensure that proper, joined-up safeguards are written into these guidelines when they return to parliament for endorsement," Bob Crow said.

Posted on 07:20 PM | Permalink

Rail 531: January 18 2006
Christian Wolmar

The Greater Western franchise, with its massive premium payments, is just a cynical attempt to cash in on the good years before the operation goes belly-up in 2010, warns CHRISTIAN WOLMAR.

The detailed figures for the Greater Western franchise which have just been issued are an amazingly revealing guide to the government?s real intentions on the railway. And sorry, dear reader, they have sent me into rant mode, but please bear with me.

The figures have not attracted much press attention because regular readers will recollect that a new game is being played by the DfT when announcing the result of franchise bids. Instead of giving the figures for premiums and subsidies at the time, a Net Present Value figure (which represents the annual amounts discounted for inflation rolled up into one number) is issued. This is then used as the basis for news stories the following day, even though it does not mean very much since it is very difficult to assess the basis on which the bid has been made.

A couple of weeks later, the department releases - inevitably on a Friday afternoon when the world?s press are in the pub - the detailed figures of the annual amounts. Bizarrely, the reason for the delay is that the failed bidders have to be debriefed fi rst. Now why these figures should be deemed to be too sensitive to be shown to the public before they are shown to the winning bidders? rivals, who have the most vested interest in seeing ?commercially confidential? material, is another one of these inexplicable paradoxes about the franchising system.

The figures reveal the depth of cynicism about the way the railways are being run, and ensure there will be an almighty financial crisis towards the end of the decade. First will receive £97m subsidy in 2006/07 and this will be transformed into a £427m premium by the last year, 2015/16. These are today?s figures and therefore, in money terms, First will supposedly pay the Exchequer £600m at the last year.

Broadly, the £97m subsidy for next year represents pretty much the level of financial support which the three franchises combined received during 2004/05. Then over the next three years this changes into a premium of £20m, and then it gets silly - the following year it leaps to £111m.

Why? Not because we know the economy is going to boom suddenly in that post-election year but because that is when the capand- collar arrangement comes in which pushes most of the risk of any shortfall on to the government. This works in such a way that, broadly, 80% of any large shortfall - or excess profits - will be borne by the government. The formula is that First takes the whole risk of the first 2% shortfall, then half the risk of the next 4%, but only 20% of all the rest. So it loses little if there is a really big shortfall.

What is so infuriating is its opaqueness and the lack of honesty on the part of those involved. From First?s point of view, it clearly is a pretty naked attempt to cash in on the good years (its profi ts are capped so that after a certain level, which the company says it will reveal later, the company shares the ?upside? with the government right from the start of the franchise) and to do all right until year five when the cap-and-collar arrangement comes into play.

From the government?s point of view, the DfT is making the Treasury happy by showing the massive sums going into rail can be reduced. But it is an old trick - simply inflate the growth figures and the bottom line looks good. Mark my words, the Treasury will not be happy in 2010 or whenever this deal falls apart.

First is confident these numbers can be achieved, even though it has subsequently discovered it overbid massively. Although there is essentially going to be the same number of trains, Adrian Lyons of the Railway Forum says economic growth in the Thames Valley area is so strong that ?people are piling on to the trains.? He reckons the targets are achievable, with the key factor being the ability to fill trains in the off-peak. Moreover, with little improvement in passenger facilities in the early years (until HST2 is delivered), First?s strategy (and indeed government policy) seems to be pile them high and sell them not so cheaply. Watch out for massive hikes in car parking, minimal service and premium-price food.

Even then, will it work? First?s bid is based on a combination of high growth and above-inflation fares rises, over the whole franchise. A bad year, brought about perhaps by too much cost-cutting, will have a massive knock-on.

The company says it needs 8-9% revenue growth annually, and that is split equally between fares rises and extra passengers. To illustrate, passengers on FGW over the past decade went up annually by an average of 4.8%, but remember that was an unprecedentedly long period of constant economic growth which has delivered record numbers to the railway. However, this was during a time when Saver fares and season tickets were regulated to 1% below the rate of inflation not, as now, 1% above.

A few numbers will illustrate the point of how diffi cult the targets are. They are slightly crude because it is difficult to get up-to-date information on the finances of the railway and First would not co-operate in this exercise, but broadly, these three franchises will generate around £630m this year, carrying around 75m passengers, giving an average fare of around £8.50. To have any hope of meeting these targets, by the end of the franchise there will need to be 110m passengers each paying over 50% more, say £13. Where are all these extra travellers going to come from, especially for a service that will be more expensive and that will receive little investment?

The other aspect of this franchise process that is so disturbing is the complete lack of focus on investment. Sure, there is supposed to be Crossrail, but that is such a distant vision that it does not really affect this tenyear franchise - except watch out for First making massive compensation claims if work affects its services. Moreover, Crossrail actually prevents any other growth, as a little-noticed document released by the DfT shows. Under the legislation, the company which owns Crossrail will be guaranteed that First and its successors on GW will not be allowed to expand the number of trains for 30 years after the new line is completed, to allay concerns about revenue abstraction.

In other words, the financial case for Crossrail will be based on squeezing all the available growth out of the railway and again shows that the government has no real interest in providing a major expansion of the rail network, even in the Thames Valley.

Oh, and First is supposed to be putting in £200m investment, but that is really little more than the company will be receiving in subsidy in the early years of the franchise and, in any case, will mostly go on long term maintenance of the ageing HSTs.

Worse, when the franchise goes wrong, as it inevitably will, it will be the government that has to pick up the bill - and that money will come out of the railway?s overall budget. First will, therefore, get four good years in which it can make a healthy profit, then two or three bad ones and by year seven it will throw in the towel.

Governments of the past 60 years have vacillated almost continuously over the key issue of what the railways are for. For all too-brief periods they have occasionally recognised their social value but for the most part the railways have been perceived as an expensive irritation which most ministers - especially those in the Exchequer - rather wish had never been invented.

It is clear from what is happening on the railways that Labour is now falling into the latter pattern. The cost of adding capacity is too high and even in areas where there is a fantastic demand for rail, as in the Thames Valley, the government is only interested in extracting as much as possible from franchisees with as little provision as possible for expansion.

History is repeating itself; very similar things were said by me in 1997 when Virgin promised to pay massive premiums for the West Coast franchise seven years down the line and is, in fact, today getting hundreds of millions in subsidy, but hardly anyone except a few of us old hacks has noticed.

But don?t be fooled. There is trouble ahead - the only question is when will First come back to the government and ask for more?

Will the first renewal of the Great Western franchise with First lead to cuts and increased fares?

MEL HOLLEY.

Posted on 07:17 PM | Permalink

ePolitix.com: 30 Jan 2006

Ministers have "abandoned rail commuters", the Liberal Democrats have said.

The claim came as the party highlighted responses to parliamentary questions which revealed that 13 of the current rail franchises have no plans to upgrade train rolling stock.

While British railway travellers pay some of the highest fares in Europe they are travelling on trains that are an average of nearly 13 years old, said the Lib Dems.

And little would be done to improve the situation in either 2006 or 2007.

"These franchises are predominantly outside London and the South East, and cover some of the busiest commuter lines in the country," said transport spokesman Paul Rowen.

"For example on the Northern franchise the average age of rolling stock is 17.1 years already, and the Great Northern fleet averages 19.9 years.

"It appears that with the exception of fast intercity routes and lines emanating around London and the South East, the Department for Transport has abandoned rail commuters.

"They face years of misery as rail stock becomes increasingly unreliable and overcrowded.
"Labour's much heralded 'age of the train' has come to an shuddering halt."

See also:

De Havilland: 30/01/2006

Trains 'getting older'

As UK rail travellers continue to fork out more for travel after new year fare increases, MPs are calling for a debate about Britain's rail infrastructure.

Brits now pay some of the highest rail fares in Europe and the Liberal Democrats are demanding to know why the country's rail network is not being updated.

A total of 13 of the UK's current rail franchises do not have any current plans to upgrade rolling stock, despite trains being an average of 13 years old, the Lib Dems claim.

The party's transport spokesman Paul Rowan has announced that answers to parliamentary questions show that regional trains are getting older, with no fixed plans from rail operators to replace them.

Mr Rowen said: "These franchises are predominantly outside London and the south-east, and cover some of the busiest commuter lines in the country.

"For example on the northern franchise the average age of rolling stock is 17.1 years already, and the Great Northern fleet averages 19.9 years."

The MP wants the government to put pressure on rail franchisees to update their rolling stock sooner rather than later.

"It appears that with the exception of fast intercity routes and lines emanating around London and the south-east, the Department for Transport has abandoned rail commuters," he claimed. "They face years of misery as rail stock becomes increasingly unreliable and overcrowded.

"Labour's much heralded 'age of the train' has come to a shuddering halt."

The latest national passenger survey for the rail industry, published this month, suggested that fewer than half of Britain's passengers are happy with the value for money they are getting.

Just 45 per cent of those quizzed said that they were satisfied that they were receiving good value for money and 33 per cent claimed that ticket prices offered poor value.

The poll of 25,000 passengers, conducted in autumn 2005, indicates that more passengers are now satisfied with their overall journey (80 per cent), and with the punctuality and reliability of the service (77 per cent).

Consumer body Passenger Focus is calling for a national debate on rail fares, following new year price rises of around 3.9 per cent. Unregulated fares, including cheap day returns, rose by an average of 4.5 per cent at the start of the year.

Posted on 07:07 PM | Permalink

RMT: January 30 2006

UNIFORMED and safety-trained staff should be on duty at every railway station every moment they are open to the public, Britain's biggest rail union says today.

"No railway station should ever be left unstaffed while it is open to the public," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today, welcoming the Greater London Assembly's call for 'stricter standards' for passenger safety at rail stations.

Bob Crow said: "We need adequate uniformed and safety-trained staff on every station all the time they are open and properly trained guards on all trains.

"Station staff and guards have been cut for financial reasons by companies more worried about their bottom line than about the safety of passengers and rail workers - and that is a direct result of privatisation and fragmentation.

"Passengers want to see more visible station staff, not fewer, particularly in today's climate, and our members should have the right to work without constant fear of assault and abuse.

"The GLA transport committee's report is a welcome step, and it is all the more baffling why some of its members saw fit to attack members of RMT for taking action to maintain safe staffing levels on Tube stations," Bob Crow said.

Posted on 07:01 PM | Permalink

ThisislocalLondon: 30 Jan, 2006
By Local London Reporter

The number of crimes at railway stations in outer London has soared by 2,000 in the last year, a new report says.

The London Assembly's transport committee found there were 12,360 offences outside zone 1, up by almost 20 per cent from 2002-03.

East Croydon (328 crimes), Clapham Junction (273) and Walthamstow Central (189) were the most dangerous overground stations.

About four in five victims were aged under 40.

Hotspots are either "particulary busy", or are Tube and rail interchange stations, according to the report.

Under-staffing blamed

The committee blamed poor coordination between rail companies and authorities, as well as a lack of station staff.

British Transport Police resources are also "overstretched". There are only 215 officers patrolling railway stations in north London, and 212 in south London.

Earlier this month City lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce was stabbed to death shortly after leaving the un-staffed Kensal Green station in north-west London. Minutes before the murder a second man was robbed at the same station.

"Recent tragic crimes have highlighted a problem which has prevailed for many years," said transport committee chair Roger Evans.

"It is unacceptable that many of London's train stations are unwelcoming and threatening areas, especially during evenings."

The committee said more BTP officers and station staff were needed, especially in off-peak hours. It also called for stricter security standards in rail franchises.

Posted on 06:38 PM | Permalink

ePolitix.com: 30 Jan 2006

Fragmented railway management is causing unsafe and vulnerable conditions for passengers, according to a London assembly committee.

In a report published on Monday, the body's transport committee issued a warning about the dangers of current arrangements.

Last year there were 12,360 crimes reported on London's rail stations outside zone one, a rise of 2,000 incidents since 2002/03.

East Croydon, Clapham Junction and Walthamstow Central taking the top places had the the highest crime levels during 2004/05.

Across the network, there is no single strategy for improving the capital's railway stations. Responsibility for security and maintenance lies in the hands of a number of organisations, said the report.

Incentives for train companies to improve stations are lacking. Too often, they are concerned only with reducing waiting and journey times.

And "patchy and inconsistent" work between train companies and local authorities is hindering the fight against crime.

Committee chairman Roger Evans said: "Recent tragic crimes have highlighted a problem which has prevailed for many years.

"These incidents are a warning that urgent improvements are needed to safeguard passengers.

"It is unacceptable that many of London's train stations are unwelcoming and threatening areas, especially during evenings."

Among the recommendations for "quick wins" that could be introduced are brighter lighting, real time travel information on platforms and at street level, consistent signage, more commercial premises, entrances in visible locations and improvements to basic design standards.

"We are disappointed at the under-investment for stations and what appears to be a lack of concern for safety and security," said Evans.

"London needs a strategic approach to its railways and plans to reduce staff must be ruled out."

Posted on 03:59 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 30 January 2006

Plans to replace the council tax with an income-based alternative have been given the backing of the RMT rail union ahead of a Holyrood vote this week. The rail union believes the bill is on the right tracks.

The bill has been drawn up by Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan.

Holyrood's cross-party local government committee urged MSPs to throw out the bill after a "most comprehensive rejection" of its proposals last week.

The RMT said rail workers were supporting the move "in the interests of a fairer, more equal Scotland".

Modest incomes

Bob Crow, general secretary of the union, which broke its links with Labour in 2004, said: "Redistribution of income is a highly laudable objective which RMT supports and that's exactly what this bill delivers."

Mr Sheridan wants to see people who earn £30,000 a year paying 15% tax and those on £90,000 paying 20%, above their normal income tax.

He said people on an income of less than £10,000 would not pay.

Holyrood's local government committee said the tax would be unfair to people on modest incomes but the SSP said Scotland's poor had been let down.

A committee report said 400,000 poorer people were already exempt from council tax and a nationally set service charge would undermine local decision making.

It also said the tax would be difficult to collect.

"This would be a progressive tax where the less an individual earns, the less they pay." - Tommy Sheridan, SSP

Committee convener, Labour MSP Bristow Muldoon, described the dismissal of the proposal as the "most comprehensive rejection of any bill that's been brought before the Scottish Parliament since it was introduced in 1999".

However, Mr Sheridan has urged parties which have called for council tax to be scrapped - including the Lib Dems and the SNP - to back the bill's general principles.

He said it could then proceed to stage two when it could be amended in line with their own proposals for an income-based local tax system.

Mr Sheridan added: "This bill represents a great opportunity for the Scottish Parliament to make a real difference to the lives and disposable incomes of the low-paid and pensioners in Scotland.

"This would be a progressive tax where the less an individual earns, the less they pay."

Trade unions, pensioners' groups and anti-poverty campaigners were gathering on Monday to promote his proposed new system.

Posted on 08:13 AM | Permalink

RMT: January 30 2006

TRANSPORT UNION RMT today gave its backing for the Council Tax Abolition Bill sponsored by Scottish Socialist Party MSP Tommy Sheridan.

The Bill, to be debated in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, would see Council Tax in Scotland replaced by a more equitable Service Tax. It has been welcomed by anti-poverty campaigners, pensioners organisations, trade unions and others.

RMT Scotland regional organiser Phil McGarry, who will join Tommy Sheridan at a Glasgow press conference this morning (Monday), said: "RMT is proud to support Tommy Sheridan's Bill in the interests of a fairer, more equal Scotland.

"Our members will be marching alongside other unions and campaigning organisations through Edinburgh on Wednesday lunchtime to demonstrate the breadth of support for this important initiative."

Tommy Sheridan MSP said: "This Bill represents a great opportunity for the Scottish Parliament to make a real difference to the lives and disposable incomes of the low-paid and pensioners in Scotland.

"This would be a progressive tax where the less an individual earns, the less they pay. When you realise that the average skilled wage in Scotland earns £25,000 and that three-quarters of pensioners have an annual income of less than £10,000 a year, you see that the proposed system is aimed firmly at those at the lower end of the earnings scale."

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "It's time to tax workers less and the wealthy more. Redistribution of income is a highly laudable objective which RMT supports and that's exactly what this Bill delivers."

[ends]

Note to editors: (i) Today's (Monday) press conference will be held at the Glasgow offices of the Fire Brigades Union, 52 St Enoch Square, at 11am.

(ii) Wednesday's demonstration in support of Tommy Sheridan's Bill assembles outside Edinburgh City Chambers at noon on February 1 before marching to the Scottish Parliament for a 2pm rally.

Posted on 07:59 AM | Permalink

Zambia News Agency: 30 January, 2006

Kabwe - RAILWAY Workers Union of Zambia (RWUZ) has condemned ZESCO Management for the suspension of NESAWU General Secretary Yotham Mutayachalo.

RWUZ General Secretary Benson Ngula said this in a press statement released to ZANIS yesterday.

He stated that the union strongly condemned the decision that was taken by ZESCO management to suspend and withdraw the secondment of Mutayachalo from NESAWU purely on flimsy grounds.

"Firstly, the Human Resource Manager should realise that the union as an entity is and represents the eyes of government and the people of Zambia on management of ZESCO which plays an important role in the economic performance of the country," Mr Ngula said.

He urged the Ministry of Energy and Water Development to quickly take action and deal with ZESCO management and deeply investigate the happenings at the power company.

He added that of late, Zesco has of late been condemned of the way the management has handling the affairs of the company.

Mr Ngula said management should not hide behind the suspension of employees in order to cover up their inefficiency and shortfalls.

"We therefore urge the minister of Labour and Social Security to intervene and reverse the decision as it is against the industrial and Labour Relations act Part II 5(2) a and b.

He urged his fellow leaders to stand up and condemn in strongest terms such acts, which were based on intimidating the labour leaders who had been mandated by the workers to represent them.

"As RWUZ, we shall support NESAWU in its efforts to enlighten the nation on the management of ZESCO," Mr Ngula said.

ENDS

Posted on 07:38 AM | Permalink

Dawn: Jan 29
By Mohammad Asghar and Hamid Asghar

Four killed in accident near Jhelum
RAWALPINDI -- A train carrying over 600 passengers from here to Lahore derailed and six of its coaches fell into a deep ravine at Domaili near Jhelum, railway and police sources said.

According to initial reports, four passengers were killed and nearly 40 injured. The accident occurred at a sharp curve at about 7:17pm.

A senior railway officer said railway police found nuts and bolts and some tools near a fairly long uprooted section of the track, which the railway authorities took into possession for investigations.

Ambulances rushed from nearby towns and transported the dead and the injured to hospitals in Jhelum, Gujar Khan, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Officials feared the number of casualties could rise as rescue work was continuing.

Pakistan Railways introduced the fast train in competition with the bus transport which do the Lahore-Rawalpindi journey in three-and-a half hours. A railway source claimed that the drivers of the train were under instructions to finish the journey within three and a half hours or face a fine.

Assistant driver of the Lahore Express Mohammad Ashraf told Dawn that the train was travelling at a speed of 80 kilometres per hour when the accident occurred while negotiating a turn in the mountainous Potohar area.

The engine and several coaches had made the turn when suddenly the six coaches behind jumped off the track and went about 100 feet down the ravine, he said.

Railway engineers at the scene suspected that light weight of the coaches bought from China, or a fault in the track could be the cause of accident.

General Manager Pakistan Railways Saleemur Rehman told Dawn that the train had left Rawalpindi at its scheduled time at 6pm for Lahore.

The railway authorities said that the driver, Amin Khan, and the other crew members were unhurt, but in a state of shock. The initial statement of the engine driver has been recorded by the railway authorities.

According to Amin Khan, it could be an act of terrorism or a fault in the track. However, none of the police officers concerned was available for their comments.

Waqas Bin Arshad, a Punjab University student, who was travelling in coach 2, told Dawn that there was a jolt and the train came to a halt after its driver tried to apply brakes. Later, the train plunged into dark due to power failure.

?We all began jumping from the train and running in the dark as the GT road is about 4 kilometre from the rail track.?

Anwar, a resident of Lahore, who was travelling in the train with his wife and two children, said he felt a strong jolt and the train derailed.

Some passengers said it appeared the rail track had been uprooted by saboteurs.

According to Jhelum police, the train plunged into the deep mountain ravine near the Sohan overhead bridge, which is away from the GT Road. Several motorists stopped and started rescuing passengers trapped in the train.

Justice Sardar Mohammad Khan of the Lahore High Court was among the injured. He has been admitted to a Jhelum Hospital, SP Javed Khan said.

The wife and a daughter of district police officer Rawalpindi Saud Aziz were also travelling in the train. The DPO?s wife was injured but his daughter escaped unhurt.

The traffic between Lahore and Rawalpindi on the main track has been suspended and is likely to be restored by Monday.

It was the first crash of 108-down Lahore Express train.

The Lahore Express train started service between Rawalpindi and Lahore on August 14, 2004.

Federal minister for Railways Shamim Siddiqui arrived at the place and ordered an immediate probe into the accident. He also ordered railways and hospital authorities to provide proper treatment to the injured.

In response to a question about why the railways did not have a helicopter to evacuate the injured to hospitals in such incidents, he said he would take up the proposal with the government.

Zaheer Mahmood Siddiqui adds from Lahore: Minister of State for Railways Ishaq Khan Khakwani said that speeding appeared to be the main cause of the accident.

Two helplines ? 9201692 and 9201110 ? have been set up at the PR headquarters in Lahore.

General Manager (operations) Saleemur Rahman Akhoond along with senior officer went to Jhelum to supervise the relief operation. Mr Akhoond had returned to Lahore on Sunday afternoon after he was injured while inspecting the Mirpurkhas-Khokhrapar section. Officials said the trolley carrying Mr Akhoond and additional general manager (infrastructure, business unit) Imtiazul Haq had derailed. Mr Akhoond fell on the crush stone and was seriously injured.

Mr Imtiaz suffered minor bruises. Both the officials returned to Lahore in the afternoon, and Mr Akhoond rushed to Jhelum in the evening because of the derailment.

?Mr Akhoond may not participate in the final round of talks from Monday with the Indian authorities for reviving the Khokhrapar-Monabao train service,? they said.

Posted on 07:33 AM | Permalink

Daily Times: January 30, 2006
By Mubasher Bukhari

LAHORE: Six bogies of a Lahore-bound train derailed near Domeli village, Jhelum, on Sunday evening and plunged into a 15-metre-deep gorge. Several passengers are feared dead and many more injured.

Gen Sultan says four killed and 40 injured - More deaths and injuries expected - No independent verification of casualties - Nightfall impeding rescue work - Emergency declared in Jehlum, Rawalpindi, Kharian, Gujrat hospitals

Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan, Pakistan Army spokesman, said four people were killed and up to 40 were injured in the accident. He also said more deaths and injuries were expected. Officials said the rest of the passengers had been rescued.

Islamabad Express 108-Down left Rawalpindi for Lahore with about 600 passengers at about 6:00pm. Six of the train's nine bogies got derailed and plunged into a 15-metre-deep gorge near Domeli village at about 7:15pm. Only the train's engine and two other bogies were left on the railway track.

There has been no independent verification of the number of casualties.

Gen Sultan said the death toll was much less than first expected, but Minister of State for Railways Ishaq Khan Khakwani, Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao and Railways officials said otherwise.

"Four passengers including two women were killed and about 30 to 40 were injured while the rest of the passengers were rescued," Gen Sultan said.

Ishaq Khakwani said an investigation had been ordered into the incident. He said high speed could have caused the derailment. However, aid workers at the scene told Daily Times that a section of the track was missing while pieces of broken track were all over.

"Pakistan Army personnel from Rawalpindi and Jhelum had to walk for three and a half kilometres to get to the scene of the crash because the terrain was not vehicle friendly," Gen Sultan said.

Sherpao said the dark was creating trouble for the rescue workers, but the soldiers were installing generators and searchlights to make the search and rescue operation easy.

Emergency was declared in all hospitals in Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Kharian and Gujrat. The injured were immediately taken to the Jhelum District Headquarter Hospital (DHQ). Some of the seriously injured passengers were then taken to Rawalpindi. "At least 20 of the injured were brought here in critical condition," said a doctor on duty at Jhelum DHQ.

Railways authorities have set up special inquiry counters at Rawalpindi and Lahore for relatives of the passengers travelling in the train.

Railway traffic between Lala Musa and Rawalpindi will remain shut for the next several hours till the damaged track is repaired and the bogies are removed. Special trains from Lahore and Rawalpindi have also been dispatched to the scene to transport passengers not injured in the accident.

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi also ordered seven Rescue 1122 ambulances to the scene.
"We heard weird noises under our bogie just before the accident after which the carriages ahead of our bogie got derailed and fell into the gorge," said Qaiser, a passenger.

Pakistan Railways has set up a help line to provide information about the dead and injured. The numbers are: 051-9270884, 051-9270981 and 051-5810329.

Posted on 12:02 AM | Permalink

Independent Online: 29 January 2006
By Christian Wolmar

Dozens of lines may shut as ministers draw up action plan for closures. Document reveals scheme for cuts as Treasury pushes for massive cash savings.

Ministers are preparing ways of closing or "mothballing" large sections of the railway network, according to an official document which was slipped out without publicity last week.

Dozens of branch lines and secondary routes could shut, in what would be the biggest rethink of the network since the Beeching report in the 1960s, which led to the closure of 4,000 miles of railway and nearly half the nation's stations. Loss-making services would be transferred on to buses, as a means of reducing the £6bn-a-year subsidy.

An army of consultants will decide whether lines should stay open or close. A law passed last year has reduced the right of passengers to object to closures.

The 83-page consultation paper uses a new kind of cost-benefit analysis, which, experts say, will highlight the economically fragile state of the network. Such analysis often penalises trains because it fails to take into account that they are environmentally friendly. As one senior rail industry figure put it last night: "The trouble with consultants is they will do exactly what ministers want them to do."

Chris Grayling, Conservative transport spokesman, said: "This will pave the way for closures. There has been a lot of talk behind the scenes that ministers are now considering significant cutbacks. For the first time they now have the power."

Many of the most vulnerable lines run through some of Britain's most beautiful countryside. At risk could be the lines to the seaside resorts of Whitby in North Yorkshire, St Ives and Newquay in Cornwall, Sheringham in north Norfolk and Skegness in Lincolnshire. But some urban lines, such as Huddersfield to Sheffield and Walsall to Wolverhampton, could go too.

Rupert Brennan-Brown, chairman of the Friends of the Derwent Valley line, which runs between Derby and Matlock, said: "It is services like this, on which communities depend, that are in the firing line."

Roger Ford, technical editor of Modern Railways, said cutting branch lines might not be enough. "If they want to save serious money they would have to cut many regional services and possibly whole swaths of lines."

The rail system is heading for a financial crisis in the next few years, as the Treasury has demanded that current record levels of subsidy be slashed. Passengers have been forced to pay big fare increases this year as ministers hike up the premiums train companies pay to run the service. The debt of Network Rail, the not-for-profit company that runs the track, will soar to £20bn by 2008. It will need £1bn a year just to service this debt.

A separate consultants' review of railways in the North, ordered by the Department for Transport, is due to report soon and is expected to recommend saving millions in Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle by transferring subsidised rail services to buses.

The crunch will come early next year when ministers will set out a list of lines the Government is no longer prepared to subsidise, which will be accompanied by a "statement of funds available". This will mean the Government will have to decide precisely where and when the cuts will take place.

Beeching cut the number of stations from 5,000 to 2,700, and cut route miles by 4,000 to 13,000. The consultation paper revives the Beeching idea of "mothballing" lines. In practice nearly all lines mothballed in the 1960s decayed and never reopened.

Ministers are preparing ways of closing or "mothballing" large sections of the railway network, according to an official document which was slipped out without publicity last week.

Dozens of branch lines and secondary routes could shut, in what would be the biggest rethink of the network since the Beeching report in the 1960s, which led to the closure of 4,000 miles of railway and nearly half the nation's stations. Loss-making services would be transferred on to buses, as a means of reducing the £6bn-a-year subsidy.

An army of consultants will decide whether lines should stay open or close. A law passed last year has reduced the right of passengers to object to closures.

The 83-page consultation paper uses a new kind of cost-benefit analysis, which, experts say, will highlight the economically fragile state of the network. Such analysis often penalises trains because it fails to take into account that they are environmentally friendly. As one senior rail industry figure put it last night: "The trouble with consultants is they will do exactly what ministers want them to do."

Chris Grayling, Conservative transport spokesman, said: "This will pave the way for closures. There has been a lot of talk behind the scenes that ministers are now considering significant cutbacks. For the first time they now have the power."

Many of the most vulnerable lines run through some of Britain's most beautiful countryside. At risk could be the lines to the seaside resorts of Whitby in North Yorkshire, St Ives and Newquay in Cornwall, Sheringham in north Norfolk and Skegness in Lincolnshire. But some urban lines, such as Huddersfield to Sheffield and Walsall to Wolverhampton, could go too.

Rupert Brennan-Brown, chairman of the Friends of the Derwent Valley line, which runs between Derby and Matlock, said: "It is services like this, on which communities depend, that are in the firing line."

Roger Ford, technical editor of Modern Railways, said cutting branch lines might not be enough. "If they want to save serious money they would have to cut many regional services and possibly whole swaths of lines."

The rail system is heading for a financial crisis in the next few years, as the Treasury has demanded that current record levels of subsidy be slashed. Passengers have been forced to pay big fare increases this year as ministers hike up the premiums train companies pay to run the service. The debt of Network Rail, the not-for-profit company that runs the track, will soar to £20bn by 2008. It will need £1bn a year just to service this debt.

A separate consultants' review of railways in the North, ordered by the Department for Transport, is due to report soon and is expected to recommend saving millions in Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle by transferring subsidised rail services to buses.

The crunch will come early next year when ministers will set out a list of lines the Government is no longer prepared to subsidise, which will be accompanied by a "statement of funds available". This will mean the Government will have to decide precisely where and when the cuts will take place.

Beeching cut the number of stations from 5,000 to 2,700, and cut route miles by 4,000 to 13,000. The consultation paper revives the Beeching idea of "mothballing" lines. In practice nearly all lines mothballed in the 1960s decayed and never reopened.

Posted on 11:52 AM | Permalink

Railnews: 29 Jan 2006

RURAL branch lines and regional rail routes face closure and replacement by bus services under government plans to reduce the huge taxpayers' subsidies to the rail industry, it has been claimed.

On 26 January the Conservatives said a government consultation document had been launched to create guidance on the process for closing down railway lines. The move followed rumours that the Government was planning to cut smaller railways, after subsidy to rural railways was cut by a third in November 2004, said a Conservative Party news release.

Shadow Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: "The consultation gives added weight to suspicions that the Government is planning to close down parts of the rail network. If they have no intention of closing smaller and particularly rural railway lines, why are they consulting on how to go about doing it?"

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, in a written statement, said: "Changes to service provision will be necessary to reflect passenger and freight demand."

He added the guidance would be put on a statutory basis for the first time and would be more transparent than the current process, which will be obsolete later in the year due to changes in the organisation of the railways.

Now rail industry journalist Christian Wolmar, writing in The Independent on Sunday, says ministers are preparing ways of closing or "mothballing" large sections of the railway network according to the document ?which was slipped out without publicity last week.?

Wolmar says that dozens of branch lines and secondary routes could shut, in what would be the biggest rethink of the network since the Beeching report in the 1960s, which led to the closure of 4,000 miles of railway and nearly half the nation's stations. Loss-making services would be transferred on to buses, as a means of reducing the £6bn-a-year subsidy.

The 83-page consultation paper uses a new kind of cost-benefit analysis (CBA), reports Wolmar, and experts say this CBA will highlight the economically fragile state of the network. Such analysis often penalises trains because it fails to take into account that they are environmentally friendly.

Wolmar cites a range of lines potentially under threat, including the lines to the seaside resorts of Whitby in North Yorkshire, St Ives and Newquay in Cornwall, Sheringham in north Norfolk and Skegness in Lincolnshire. But some urban lines, such as Huddersfield to Sheffield and Walsall to Wolverhampton, could go too.

Roger Ford, technical editor of Modern Railways, told The Independent on Sunday that cutting branch lines might not be enough. "If they want to save serious money they would have to cut many regional services and possibly whole swaths of lines."

Procedures for simplifying rail service closures were included in last year?s Railways Act, which was rushed through with little publicity just before the general election.

Under these powers, the Department for Transport has already given approval to Arriva Trains Wales? plans to withdraw its services between Manchester and Cornwall, via Crewe, Hereford and the Severn Tunnel.

Posted on 11:48 AM | Permalink

The Times: January 28, 2006
By Ben Webster

Two high-speed rail lines will be needed between London, the North of England and Scotland to relieve pressure on road and rail links, an industry report has found.

The 200mph lines, one for each side of the country, would cut two hours off the journey time between London and Edinburgh and allow people to commute from Birmingham to London in 45 minutes. The lines could be paid for by introducing tolls on motorways. Greengauge 21, a campaign group that includes senior rail industry figures, published plans for the network yesterday.

Network Rail, which owns the existing network, has appointed a team of officials to study the concept, but Greengauge 21 fears that the project is progressing too slowly.

The group's high-speed rail manifesto argues that high-speed rail is essential to close the income and productivity gap between the South East and the North.

Posted on 11:44 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 27 January 2006

London Underground workers have reached a deal over staffing levels, ending a row which resulted in industrial action on New Year's Eve. The deal has stopped the imminent threat of strikes.

The Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) said station staff voted seven-to-one in favour of a deal which would lead to a 35-hour week.

Workers had staged two walkouts, including one on New Year's Eve.

But the union has warned that another dispute over employment relations could involve Tube train drivers.

'Fair deal'

The union will ballot 1,500 train drivers over several issues after saying industrial relations have broken down.

General secretary Bob Crow said the RMT's executive will meet next week to decide whether they should include all of the union's workers on London Underground in a strike ballot.

Mr Crow said he had been told train drivers backed strike action.

The result of the ballot will be announced on 9 February.

A London Underground spokesman said: "The agreement is exactly the same as it was before the attempted RMT strike action. The new staff rosters will be implemented across all LU stations on 5 February, as planned.

"The agreement is a fair deal which gives Tube station staff a shorter 35-hour working week and safe staffing levels at all Tube stations.

"There will be no job cuts and the deal comes at no extra cost to farepayers," he said.

LU said there was no justification for the ballot over industrial relations held with train drivers.

"London Underground is committed to consultation with our employees and trade unions using our agreed procedures.

"It is regrettable that once again the RMT is misleading its members and ignoring agreed procedures," the spokesman said.

Posted on 11:56 AM | Permalink

Xinhua: Jan. 27

TIRANA -- The transport ministers from southeastern Europe countries agreed at a meeting in Athens on Friday to build a regional high-speed railway network, the Macedonian Information Agency reported.

Transport ministers from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria,Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro and Turkey agreed that an efficient transport system was essential to the economic and social advancement in southeast Europe.

Greek transport minister Mihalis Liapis said that the joint declaration of the meeting envisaged a railway network connecting all the region's capitals would be built by 2020.

The railway network, as part of effort in the South East European Cooperation Process, will consists of 16 rail axes. "The network will have faster, higher-quality and more competitive rail connections between urban and commercial centers for passengers and freight services," the declaration said.

The Southeast European Cooperation Process is a non-institutionalized regional cooperation structure. It was created in 1996, when Bulgaria organized a meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs, to lay the foundation of a new cooperation forum,following the birth of new countries in the Balkans.

See also:

SEECP TRANSPORT MINISTERS SIGN RAIL COOPERATION MEMORANDUM

SE Europe may be situated in the periphery of the European Union, but it should not find itself in the periphery of development, Liapis told the meeting, adding that the goal of the current Greek presidency of the group (for the period 2005-2006) was to boost the competitiveness of the region's rail transports, which in turn would attract more passengers and cargoes.

He welcomed the agreement as a "bold venture for upgrading the transport infrastructures in SE Europe, the promotion of the railway as an environment-friendly means of transport, the promotion of tourism, and also the sustainable economic development of the region, as well as rendering Greece a protagnist in developments in the region.

The in-principle agreement, which was signed by the transportation ministers of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYROM, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro and Turkey, ushers in a new era in rail communication among the countries of the region, with the goal being to boost the competitiveness of rail transports in SE Europe, improve the quality of services offered, and substantially reduce travel time along the strategic sections of the region's rail network.

The first stage of the ambitiou scheme, which covers a network of 14 rail axes, is slated for completion in 2013, while the second stage is envisaged to be completed in 2020.

According to the memorandum, "mild" interventions will be made in the first stage aimed at increasing the speed of passenger trains to 130 kilometers per hour, with the prospect of speed reaching 160 and even 220 kilometers per hour along certain stretches of the network, while the speeds of the cargo trains will also be accordingly adjusted.

The memorandum further foresees the limitation or elimination of obstaces at cross-border crossings, and the simplification procedures, coordination of the timetable of the projects currently underway or being planned at bilateral and multilateral level, and seeking new funding vehicles (EU, international financial institutions), etc.

Greece was selected during the conference to chair the Steering Committee that will promote the implementation of the agreement, and also the Technical Secretariat that will undertake the technical support of the project.

Addressing the meeting earlier, Liapis and deputy foreign minister Evripides Stylianidis said that SE Europe was situated in the periphery of the EU, but it must not find itself in the "periphery of development".

The goal of the Greek presidency (of the SEECP) was to boost the competitiveness of rail transports in SE Europe, which would attract more passengers and goods, Liapis said.

To achieve that goal, it is necessary to increase the speed of rain transports (from 60 kilometers per hour today to 160 kilomters per hour in the intermediate term), reduce delays, particularly at the cross-border crossings, and upgrade the quality of services provided to passengers, Liapis said, adding that all these elements were contained in the memorandum that would be signed at the end of the conference.

Regarding the financing of the networks, the memorandum provided for investigating the prospects of national and international, public and private resources.

Addressing the conference in turn, Stylianidis said that the modernisation of the region's road and rail axes was expected to contribute substantially to improving the economies of SE Europe, and he cited recent activities aiming at opening up new corss-border axes and crossings with neighbouring countries and the materialisation of major road projects of European-wide interest.

He noted the recent inauguration of the Greek-Bulgarian Friendship Tunnel, and the plans for two additional border crossings with Bulgaria, progress in works on the new Komotini-Nymfaia-GrecoBulgarian border highway, and the plans for a new highway linking Xanthi with Bulgaria.

Greek prime minister Karolos Papoulias and his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Purvanov in early December inaugurated a tunnel constructed to facilitate the opening of the new border crossing between the two countries at Exochi, in Drama. The new Ilinden-Exochi border crossing links Drama with the neigbouring Bulgarian city of Goce Delcev. The initial agreement for the opening of the new border crossing was signed in 1995. It is the first of three new border checkpoints between Greece and Bulgaria provided for in the bilateral agreement, aimed at alleviating congestion at the other busy border posts between the two countries. The other two future border crossings will connect Komotini with Kurdzhali, and Xanthi with Rudozem.

He also said that upgrading was being dvanced of the Trans-European Corridor 4 (Thessaloniki-Sofia).

Regarding Turkey, Stylianidis said that at the latest meeting of the joint interministerial economic cooperation committee, it had been decided to proceed with the establishment of a second bridge in the Kipi-Ipsala region, with Greek funding, aimed at decongesting the existing crossing, while a new coastal link was being examined in the northern part of the Aegean.

On the Trans-European Corridors, he said the Greek government's priority was the upgrading of Corridor 10 into a high-specifications highway, which would ensure the speedy and safe link of Thessaloniki, Skopje and Belgrade, and from there to the European markets. The project, he added, would be funded by Greek resources and by international financial institutions (i.e. the European Investment Bank).

Stylianidis noted that Greek premier Costas Karamanlis was running a strong "economic diplomacy" campaign, adding that during his recent visits to the US, China and Japan, the Greek effort had focussed on the Balkan region, with the aim of encouraging investments in the region and assisting the development of entrepreneurship through the projection of Greece as a part of the whole called SE Europe.

"Our proposal is the establishment of headquarters of international business groups in Greece, with production units in the Balkans, thus encouraging cooperation among our countries and growth," Stylianidis concluded.

Posted on 11:44 AM | Permalink

noticias.info: 28 January, 2006

The Transport Committee voiced serious concern on 25 January about the financing of the agreed 30 crossborder Trans-European Transport Networks (TENs).

In a meeting with Austrian Transport Minister Hubert Gorbach, MEPs from all political groups attacked the Council's decision to cut the budget for the TENs from ?20bn to ?7bn for the period 2007-2013.

The minister, appearing in his capacity as President-in-Office of the Transport Council, was told by the committee that the TENs (a network of transeuropean road, rail and inland waterway routes) were the most powerful factor in European integration after the euro and that their completion was vital to economic growth. The completion of only some projects would disrupt integration of the network as a whole. The Council, said MEPs, should keep its promises and not undermine the credibility of the EU. If EU funding were reduced, this would also have serious consequences for the introduction of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERMTS), a common EU signalling system which was vital for the future of the Community's railways.

Mr Gorbach agreed that promises should be kept but added that there were other interests at stake. In any case it was the Ecofin and not the Transport Council which would take the final decisions on the budget. On behalf of all political groups, Transport Committee chair Paolo Costa (ALDE, IT) has sent a letter to EP President Josep Borrell, Council President-in-Office Wolfgang Sch?and Commission President Jos頍anuel Barroso, expressing dismay at the Council's plans.

"Completion of the TENs is crucially dependent on the EU's ability heavily to co-finance all cross-border sections of these projects. It is vital to maintain investment in the cross-border sections of all projects. This is more important than attempting to prioritise between projects. If this does not happen, major projects risk being abandoned not least because effective progress in construction phases from 2010 depends on an adequate commitment to invest from 2007", writes Mr Costa.

Posted on 11:41 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 27 January 2006

At least four people were injured when a passenger train hit the buffers at a station in Suffolk. The accident happened at Sudbury Station on Friday evening, British Transport Police said.

A Network Rail spokeswoman said an investigation had begun into the cause of the accident.

The spokesman said the accident took place at "low speed" and Suffolk Police described casualties as "walking wounded". No-one went to hospital.

Full of passengers

The train involved was the 6.05pm Marks Tey-to-Sudbury service - the only one running on that line and there were not expected to be any more services on Friday evening.

A spokeswoman for One, the operating company, said the class 156 diesel train involved had two carriages.

She said: "It was travelling at low speed when it hit the buffers. There appears to be no damage to the train, it was a slow collision and all the passengers have gone home.

"It was a busy train, full of passengers."

One Railways provide services to London Liverpool Street and across east England.

Posted on 11:26 AM | Permalink

Daily Record: 28 January 2006
By Hilary Duncanson

FORMER footballer Gordon Durie drunkenly grabbed a rail worker by the throat, a court heard yesterday.

And a policeman claimed the 40-year-old was "wild" during a booze-fuelled row with station staff.

The ex-Scotland striker denies assaulting Keith Laing and breach of the peace with three other men at Edinburgh's Waverley Station.

The city's sheriff court was told the men tried to get out of the station as police arrived on the scene

Station supervisor Steven Pitblado said staff had called police as Durie's group became more abusive.

He said Mr Laing confronted the men on the Waverley Steps exit to stop them getting away.

Mr Pitblado, 38, said: "I clearly remember accused number one made an attempt to run up the steps and in doing so grabbed Mr Laing by the throat and tried to push him aside." He confirmed he was referring to Durie.

Mr Pitblado said he was called to a disturbance on the concourse of the station on a Sunday in November 2004 at about 9.30pm.

When he got there, he saw four men, including Durie, of Dalgety Bay, Fife, arguing with a staff member.

One member of the group, who he identified as Durie, was particularly vocal, he claimed.

Mr Pitblado, who said the group were under the influence of alcohol, said: "I can't recall exactly what he said but he was shouting and swearing."

Scott Houston, 45, of South Queensferry, West Lothian, Paul Mooney, 40, of Inverkeithing, Fife, and Edward Spence, 41, also from Inverkeithing, deny the same breach of the peace charge as Durie.

Spence also denies head butting Mr Pitblado.

Mooney denies assaulting train conductor Graham Miller.

Mr Miller told the court Mooney had already assaulted another man.

He said he had not heard a couple shouting "Orange b******s" at the defendants but said it was possible.

British Transport Police PC Brian Gallacher said he called for back-up from the Lothian and Borders force because he was so concerned for his safety.

He said he was particularly worried about Durie as he was carrying a bottle of beer and he feared he would use it as a weapon.

He added: "The first person I recognised was Gordon Durie. He was wild.

"Mr Durie had a bottle in his hand. I said to him. 'Give it to me'. He said, 'No chance'. I took it out of his hand and dropped it over the side of the stairs."

The officer added that the accused were shouting abuse and taunting rail staff over their poorly paid jobs.

The trial continues.

Posted on 11:19 AM | Permalink

Independent Online: 28 January 2006
By Michael Harrison Business Editor

GNER, the operator of inter-city trains on the east coast main line, suffered a severe setback yesterday after the Rail Regulator rejected its plans for a big increase in services.

In a surprise ruling, the Office of the Rail Regulator refused GNER's application to increase the number of services between London and Leeds from 53 to 65 a day and instead approved a new service from Sunderland to London to be operated by Grand Central Railway.

The refusal to allow GNER more services could throw the economics of its new 10-year franchise on the east coast route into doubt. The company, a subsidiary of James Sherwood's Sea Containers, has agreed to make £1.3bn in premium payments to the Treasury over the next decade.

It based its financial calculations on the assumption it would be able to lift passenger numbers and revenues by running a greater number of services.

GNER said it "fundamentally disagreed" with the ORR's conclusions, which demonstrated "a lack of joined-up thinking in the railway industry". A spokesman added: "It is astonishing that the ORR has rejected GNER's additional Leeds-London services, as that is what the Government, in awarding the east coast franchise, contracted GNER to deliver."

Grand Central said it was delighted to get the go-ahead for the new Sunderland-London service, which is expected to begin next year. But Ian Yeowart, the managing director, said he was disappointed its application for a service from Bradford and Halifax to London had not been approved. Its application to launch the new routes has been supported by MPs in West Yorkshire and the North-east. More than 5,000 people signed petitions in the two areas.

GNER, the operator of inter-city trains on the east coast main line, suffered a severe setback yesterday after the Rail Regulator rejected its plans for a big increase in services.

In a surprise ruling, the Office of the Rail Regulator refused GNER's application to increase the number of services between London and Leeds from 53 to 65 a day and instead approved a new service from Sunderland to London to be operated by Grand Central Railway.

The refusal to allow GNER more services could throw the economics of its new 10-year franchise on the east coast route into doubt. The company, a subsidiary of James Sherwood's Sea Containers, has agreed to make £1.3bn in premium payments to the Treasury over the next decade.

It based its financial calculations on the assumption it would be able to lift passenger numbers and revenues by running a greater number of services.

GNER said it "fundamentally disagreed" with the ORR's conclusions, which demonstrated "a lack of joined-up thinking in the railway industry". A spokesman added: "It is astonishing that the ORR has rejected GNER's additional Leeds-London services, as that is what the Government, in awarding the east coast franchise, contracted GNER to deliver."

Grand Central said it was delighted to get the go-ahead for the new Sunderland-London service, which is expected to begin next year. But Ian Yeowart, the managing director, said he was disappointed its application for a service from Bradford and Halifax to London had not been approved. Its application to launch the new routes has been supported by MPs in West Yorkshire and the North-east. More than 5,000 people signed petitions in the two areas.

Posted on 11:14 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 27 January 2006

Plans for direct rail services between parts of the north-east of England and London have taken a step forward. Trains will use the East Coast Main Line.

York-based Grand Central Railways had bid to run four trains a day from Sunderland, taking in Teesside and North Yorkshire.

On Friday, The Office of Rail Regulation said it was minded to approve three services a day from Sunderland to London.

A final decision on the application is expected to be made early in February.

The services would also provide direct journeys to London from Thirsk, Northallerton, Eaglescliffe and Hartlepool.

Passenger benefits

Office of Rail Regulation chief executive Bill Emery said: "We have had to consider how to balance the interests of rail users in different parts of Yorkshire and the North East and take account of the effect of new services on existing franchised services.

"We believe that the proposed decision would offer the best outcome for rail users.

"It would bring significant benefits to passengers on the route and particularly to those areas that would receive a new direct service connecting them with London."

Before reaching its final decision, it is seeking comments on the proposed decision with the deadline 6 February.

See also:

Sunderland Echo: 27 January 2006

ALL ABOARD

THE Echo today won the monumental battle to restore a direct rail link from Sunderland to London.
Rail bosses have succumbed to pressure from our campaign ? which saw 3,000 people sign a petition ? securing three return trains a day.

The Office of Rail Regulation will recommend the service goes ahead, after a push by rookie operator Grand Central led by the Echo's Back on Track campaign.

Grand Central chief Ian Yeowart today thanked the Echo and its readers for backing the bid.

He said the trains could be running within a year from Sunderland Central Station ? one in the morning, one at lunchtime and one in the evening.

The decision by the Office of Rail Regulation comes 12 months after the Echo's campaign was launched.
Mr Yeowart said: "The support we've had has been instrumental in this decision. Everybody has played their part ? the Echo, the MPs, the councillors and everybody who signed the petition.

"We think the trains should be running in early-mid 2007. You've waited 50 years for a service like this to return to Sunderland and we're delighted to be in the position to bring it."

The trains will run from the city, through York, Thirsk, Northallerton, Eaglescliffe and Hartlepool.
Bill Emery, ORR chief executive, said: "We believe that the proposed decision would offer the best outcome for rail-users.

"It would bring significant benefits to passengers on the route and particularly to those areas that would receive a new direct service connecting them with London as well as the more general benefits arising from the promotion of competition on the network."

Echo editor Rob Lawson said: "I'm absolutely delighted at the news. It's a real boost for the people of Wearside who want to travel to London.

"I want to thank everybody who has supported our campaign and I firmly believe they've made a difference. I now look forward to being on the first train back down to London."

Joe Lawson, Sunderland's transport councillor, said: "This is a great day for Sunderland. It can only enhance the profile of Sunderland, and I also want to thank all the people who signed the Echo's petition.

"They are to be congratulated for their support. It shows what you can do when you get the bit between your teeth."

Posted on 11:10 AM | Permalink

AFX News Limited: 01.27.2006

LONDON (AFX) - The UK rail regulator said it is likely to show the green light to proposals from open access train operator Grand Central for new rail services between London and Sunderland.

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) said it is 'minded to approve' access rights to Grand Central for three new daily direct services between the capital and the north east English city on the East Coast Main Line (ECML).

The proposed decision would mean applications from Sea Containers unit Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) for additional rights to serve Leeds, and from Grand Central to serve Bradford, would be turned down.

However, the ORR said it expects that when track operator Network Rail has produced its future strategy for the ECML, it should be possible to accommodate additional passenger services on the route without compromising the interests of freight operators such as EWS and FirstGroup PLC unit GB Railfreight.

'We are asking Network Rail to prioritise this work,' the ORR said in a statement.

The ORR said it also is minded to approve continuation of a current temporary access right for one service daily between London and Hull run by FirstGroup open access operator Hull Trains, provided capacity is available.

Posted on 12:39 PM | Permalink

Department for Transport: 26 January, 2006

The Department for Transport is today announcing a 3 month consultation on plans to make it easier to close railway lines, shut stations and cut train services.

A letter from the government's Department for Transport states:

"I am consulting you in connection with the prospective implementation of parts of the Railways Act 2005 (the Act). These concern the way in which modifications to the rail network are to be made in future. The Act distinguishes two types of modification, each having its own procedure:

* a "closure" involves the loss of a passenger service, a network (or part of one) or a station (or part of one).
* a "minor modification" involves some lesser change. These include changes such as the removal of railway equipment or the relocation of a station structure."

'Modifications'

The consultation letter makes it clear:

"[the draft change] deals with how to assess the business case and the cost-benefit threshold below which closures will not be permitted."

Currently railway station closures cannot take place without a statutory instrument; i.e. a Bill in the Houses of Parliament. Under the proposed changes this will no longer be necessary, instead big business lobbyists and cash-strapped local government transport departments will be able to push for withdrawal of public subsidy from public transport networks much more easily.

"The Act also makes provision for classes of modification to the railway to be treated as minor modifications; and therefore exempt from the new closure procedures. The consultation therefore seeks views on where the boundary line between closures and minor modifications should be drawn, and on the procedure for dealing with the latter."

The deadline for responding to the current DfT consultation is 21 April, 2006. Get writing.

Posted on 08:32 AM | Permalink

Bloomberg: Jan. 26, 2006

Deutsche Bahn AG, Germany's state- owned national railway, plans to spend as much as 2 billion euros (£1.37 billion) buying 400 regional trains.

The new trains, probably costing between 3.5 million euros and 5 million euros each, mark the beginning of a program to replace aging models in the regional fleet, Christine Geissler- Schild, a Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman, said. Deutsche Bahn is seeking bids from train suppliers until April and will award the contract in the months after that, she said.

"We want to establish an entirely new generation of trains that provides more comfort for our passengers,'' Geissler-Schild said in a telephone interview in Berlin.

Chief Executive Hartmut Mehdorn, 63, is spending money to improve the railway's infrastructure and expand the Berlin-based company outside of running traditional passenger and freight trains as he prepares for a possible share sale. Deutsche Bahn said Nov. 16 it was buying the Brink's Co.'s U.S. freight delivery division BAX Global Inc. for $1.1 billion.

Deutsche Bahn expects delivery of the first trains in 2008, Geissler-Schild said. The probable bidders for the contract are Siemens AG, Alstom SA and Bombardier Inc., she said.

The railway is also planning to purchase 10,000 new freight cars through 2010, Geissler-Schild said.

Profit Goal Met

Deutsche Bahn met a goal of boosting 2005 profit at least 58 percent after sales increased, Mehdorn said earlier today at an event highlighting Deutsche Bahn's preparation for the soccer World Cup, which Germany is hosting this year.

Earnings after interest expenses were "well over 400 million euros for 2005,'' Mehdorn said, without specifying a figure. Profit in 2004 was 253 million euros. Full-year sales rose to about 27 billion euros, including revenue from newly acquired BAX, a 13 percent increase. The BAX takeover will probably be completed in the coming days, Mehdorn said.

Revenue from passenger trains last year amounted to 11 billion euros, with 14 billion euros coming from freight and logistics and 1 billion euros from other infrastructure and customer service businesses, Mehdorn said. Sales in 2004 totaled 24 billion euros.

The share of sales from business outside Germany increased to 34 percent last year from 23 percent in 2004, Mehdorn said. The railway provided 1.8 billion passenger rides in 2005, a 4 percent increase from 2004.

World Cup Travel

Deutsche Bahn said it expects to carry an additional 5 million people as a result of the World Cup events. To handle the increased traffic, the railway is adding 250 extra trains, setting up charter trains to carry large groups and adding cars to some of regular long-distance services, said Karl-Friedrich Rausch, Deutsche Bahn's head of the passenger business.

"We expect a small profit'' from the additional traffic, Mehdorn said.

Mehdorn said he thinks the threat of a strike by Deutsche Bahn workers during the World Cup "is not meant seriously.'' Norbert Hansen, the head of a Deutsche Bahn trade union, told Sueddeutsche Zeitung Jan. 19 that workers are considering a strike during the World Cup to protest against the possible split-up of the rail network from train operations in the event of a share sale.

Separately, Deutsche Bahn said Thomas Held, 49, is stepping down at the end of this month as head of the Schenker logistics division. Held has been on the business's management board since 1997 and has run Schenker since January 2003, Deutsche Bahn said in an e-mailed statement.

The DB Netz AG track-network unit meanwhile named Volker Kefer, 50, as the business's new CEO effective June 1 "at the latest,'' succeeding Roland Heinisch, 63, who leaves the post at the end of March, Deutsche Bahn said in another e-mail.

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

Last Updated: January 26, 2006

Posted on 06:27 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 26 January 2006

Ports and ferries group P&O has agreed a takeover bid from Singapore's PSA International, valuing the company at £3.5bn ($6.3bn). P&O is the world's fourth largest ports operator and owns private train operator, GNER.

In a statement, P&O's board said it had recommended to its shareholders the 470 pence a share offer by PSA.

PSA is owned by Temasek Holdings a Singapore government investment agency which already owns 4.1% of P&O.

The offer beats a previously agreed bid from Dubai Ports World of 443 pence a share and could spark a bidding war.

Speculation about a counterbid has been mounting since Dubai Ports launched its offer in November last year.

Strategic fit

Founded in 1837, P&O has three divisions - ferries, ports and logistics.

In its heyday in the mid-1920s, it owned a fleet of almost 500 ships before transforming itself in the post-war era to concentrate more on cargo shipping and ports.

P&O said the company's decision to jump ship and ditch support for Dubai Ports was justified on the grounds that PSA was willing to pay 6% more for the group and has agreed to satisfy any regulatory demands.

"PSA will be a strong owner of P&O's businesses," said Sir John Parker, P&O's chairman.

PSA said the enlarged company would have the financial strength and global presence to compete effectively against rival port operators.

"It is our intention to integrate quickly in order to add value to the businesses of the combined group, including ferries," said Fock Siew Wah, chairman of PSA.

Temasek is the second biggest port operator in the world.

Posted on 08:52 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 24 January 2006

Conductors working for TransPennine Express rail company are being balloted for strike action in a dispute over new working practices.

The row centres on the introduction of new Avantix machines that can issue tickets for travel all over the country and contain detailed train information.

The RMT said staff were being forced to use them without receiving extra money.

The rail firm operates services from Hull, Newcastle, Leeds, York and Sheffield, to Manchester and Liverpool.

'Open to discussion'

The new machines are in operation at most TransPennine locations and other train companies, including Virgin and Midlands Mainline, are already using them.

But, an RMT spokesman said the other companies had agreed a "particular amount of money for training and usage".

About 120 RMT members are being balloted and a result is expected next week.

"We are open to discussions with the company if the result is for strike action," said the spokesman.

Posted on 12:22 AM | Permalink

The Baltic Times: 25.01.2006
By Kairi Kurm

TALLINN - The Ministry of Economy and Communications announced that it was preparing a proposal for the government to purchase 66 percent of the capital stock in Estonian Railway from the U.S. and Estonian investors who bought the company in 2000.

Economy Minister Edgar Savisaar was quoted by the Eesti Paevaleht daily this week as saying there was "a great probability that the Economy Ministry has come to the position that we support repurchase."

"There are debates underway over the price and the terms and on whether the government or Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn) will purchase it," he said.

The 66 percent stake is owned by Baltic Rail Services, while the Estonian government owns 34 percent. The company was privatized when the government was run by a three party coalition government chaired by Mart Laar - Pro Patria Union, the Reform Party and the Moderates (now Social Democrats).

The current government consists of the Reformists, the Center Party and the People's Union. None is against the purchase of the shares, but have said the current 3 billion kroons (192 million euros) being asked for by Baltic Rail Services is irrational.

BRS paid about 1 billion kroons with the obligation to invest hundreds of millions of kroons.

"I want to know why the price has tripled in the meantime," said Meelis Atonen, former economy minister who also sat on the council of Estonian Railway for half a year. "It is clearly too much. We should not pay for the unbeneficial investments like American locomotives that are not suitable and good enough for Estonian Railway."

What's more, investment obligations set out in the contract have not been fully met due to various reasons.

"What are we going to use for money?" Edward Burkhardt, CEO of Baltic Rail Services, told The Baltic Times in a recent interview. He said he and other investors have lost about 800 million kroons in revenues due to the low infrastructure fees set by the government that BRS can charge competitors.

"Dividends or development - they decided on the dividends. Then there is certainly not enough (money)," said Atonen.

Some parties, such as the People's Union, want to see the government regain control of infrastructure, while leaving cargo-handling to the private sector. But even if the government is only interested in the infrastructure, it will also have to purchase BRS's operating services as well.

As Atonen explained, currently it is difficult to say what the exact cost of infrastructure alone is since BRS does not keep accounting separate. He claims this is done deliberately to mask the true operating numbers from competitors.

Nor does Atonen agree with Burkhardt that infrastructure fees are artificially low. He said that fees depend largely on the amount invested in the infrastructure. The larger the investment, the higher the fees, he explained.

And then there is the Russian question. Some politicians claim the government should purchase back the railway to prevent it from getting into the hands of Russian transit interests.

As MP Robert Lepikson from the People's Union recently told The Baltic Times, "As a businessman, I find that it costs more [for Russians] to start a war than to just buy everything. We ourselves have created a wonderful opportunity for this while privatizing infrastructure objects such as Estonian Railway, which can be purchased by any company from any country. This can be done by a hostile adjoining state for example."

Margus Tsahkna, spokesman for Pro Patria Union, said, "The foreign policy of Russia in year 2000 to take neighboring economies under its control makes us anxious."

Burkhardt said he himself held the same opinion at one time, but now he no longer cares. "So far as I am concerned, if Russians come along and say, 'We want to buy these shares,' we will talk to them. Why not? There is no interest in working with us in Estonia, so why not? I am trying to be rational. We try to run a business here. Every time we turn around we have another problem from this government," said Burkhardt.

In recent a letter to the Wall Street Journal he accused Estonia?s present government of attacking privatizations. He wrote that Estonia's economy was not as liberal as described in the previous issue.

"Unfortunately, the picture has changed since then, as successive left-wing governments dominated by former communist politicians have attacked privatizations and other reforms instituted," Burkhardt wrote. In his words, the beneficiaries of these policies are interests involved in Russian oil transit via Baltic ports who have paid heavily for political support from the current ruling coalition.

Atonen shot back. "It is sad that his business plan does not work, and he has started to blame the Estonian government for that. It is especially harmful for the Estonian Railway," he said, adding that railways are not in private hands in the European Union but cargo was still open to competition.

"I do not understand their PR. They blame communism for everything. In this case they should blame the European Union."

Posted on 12:04 AM | Permalink

Silicon.com: 24 January 2006
By Andy McCue

Watchdog has received 45 complaints about DWP data leak.

The UK's data protection watchdog has launched an investigation into the tax credit fraud fiasco that resulted from the theft of the identities and personal details of almost 13,000 staff at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Network Rail.

The government admitted last week that 8,800 staff identities at the DWP had been stolen in 2003/04, with 6,800 used in attempts by criminal gangs to make false tax credits claims last summer. Meanwhile 4,000 Network rail staff had personal details stolen and used by fraudsters to exploit security weaknesses on the tax credits claim website.

Although HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) claims to have stopped many of the fraudulent claims before any money was paid, it admits to losing £2.7m from those that slipped through the net. The tax credits website was closed down in December and is still offline while the criminal investigation is ongoing.

Data protection watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is now investigating how the personal details of thousands of government workers and Network Rail staff ended up in the hands of criminals.

HMRC executive director David Varney told MPs before Christmas that he believed criminals had somehow obtained staff payroll records from the DWP.

A spokesman for the ICO confirmed to silicon.com that 45 complaints about personal information of DWP employees being stolen have been received.

The spokesman said: "The ICO takes breaches of people's privacy very seriously and we have already contacted both HMRC and the DWP. Our investigation is ongoing."

Posted on 05:12 PM | Permalink

People's Daily Online: January 24, 2006

The China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry (Group) Corporation (CSR), a major supplier for China railways, inked a developing agreement on financial cooperation on Monday with the China Development Bank.

According to the agreement, the bank will provide a 15-billion-yuan developing financial loan to support CSR's researches on high-speed trains traveling at the speed of 200-300 kilometers per hour in the next three years. The CSR said it has started the production of 60 high-speed trains in the country, reports the Beijing Times on Tuesday.

This signifies that China will adopt "wheel/rail technology" and the "magnetic levitation" technology will be phased out thoroughly. China's high-speed trains, planned for many years, have passed the stage of planning.

The first batch of 120 high-speed trains has been put on order, said Zhang Xinning, spokesperson with the CSR in an exclusive interview with the Beijing Times' reporter. The CSR has received an order of 60 trains, which has been handed over to its subsidiary, CSR Sifang Locomotive and Rolling to build.

Zhang disclosed that China's high-speed trains will be more comfortable for passengers than the BSP passenger cars on the Beijing-Shanghai rail line. In addition to fast speed, the high-speed trains in the nation will be more comfortable and safer than those of other countries. It is more worth noting that the high-speed trains will have China's own brand. The CSR will import the technology from a Japanese company in manufacturing.

As a matter of fact, the 15-billion loan includes the import of the Japanese technology. In addition, the loan will also include the technological import of the CSR motor train sets traveling at the speed of 200 kilometers per hour, high-power electric locomotives and diesel locomotives.

See also:

China Develops First Maglev Train

China's first medium to low-speed magnetic levitation train debuts in the northern city of Tangshan. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese engineers have developed the country's first medium- and low-speed magnetic levitation train which travels 150 kilometers per hour, the developers said on Tuesday.

A series of tests show that the performance of the train reached the standards for safety and reliability, said engineers who have spent two years in the development.

The train, which also produces low noise and is pollution free with low maintenance cost, will be mainly used for the urban traffic system of the country.

Compared with fast maglev trains, the medium- and low-speed ones consume less energy. Therefore, the construction of medium- and low-speed maglev train lines in urban areas has become a new focus worldwide, according to industry insiders.

China opened the world's first commercial magnetic levitation train with the highest velocity of more than 430 kilometers per hour in Shanghai in 2002, based on German technology. The development of the medium- and low-speed maglev train indicated China has become the third country in the world able to build maglev trains, following Germany and Japan.

Maglev train lines have been considered as an effective means to deal with the heavy passenger flow in the Yangtze River Delta, one of the economic powerhouses in China.

Posted on 05:04 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 24 January 2006

Unmanned stations like that where City lawyer Thomas ap Rhys Pryce alighted before he was stabbed to death, are to get a security boost, says the mayor of London. Mr Rhys Pryce was stabbed shortly after leaving the station.

Concern grew about stations left unmanned late in the evening, while services still run, after Mr Rhys Pryce died near Kensal Green, north London.

The franchise for Silverlink's suburban network is due to expire in 2007.

Ken Livingstone said the new franchise would specify that all stations had to have staff while they were open.

"We will not consider any bid for a franchise that does not include that complete commitment that staff will be at every station throughout its entire opening hours" - Ken Livingstone

He said improving security at stations across the Silverlink network was part of the talks between Transport for London and the government about the handover of the Silverlink.

Mr Livingstone said: "I want to make this absolutely clear the franchise will specify that all stations have to have personnel while they are open.

"Nobody bidding will be considered unless part of their bid guarantees that all the existing Silverlink stations which are not staffed are staffed... from the beginning to the end of the day.

"We will not consider any bid for a franchise that does not include that complete commitment that staff will be at every station throughout its entire opening hours."

Mr Rhys Pryce was killed shortly after leaving Kensal Green station in north London on his way home from a night out on 12 January.

Shortly before he was stabbed, another man was robbed at the station.

Two teenagers have been charged with robbery and murder.

Posted on 03:07 PM | Permalink

icBirmingham: Jan 24 2006
 
A record year for train travel in the West Midlands has led to renewed calls for greater Government investment in the region's ageing network.

Despite poor reliability from operators and Network Rail, new figures released by transport bosses show passenger numbers increased by seven per cent to 29.3 million in 2004/2005.

The fifth year-on-year increase in rail patronage was revealed in the annual statistical survey by Centro, the region's public transport promotion and development body.

A Centro spokesman said: "It comes despite the continuing poor performance of local rail services, particularly those operated by Central Trains.

"Passenger numbers on local Centro-supported services also grew faster than long-distance services."

For years, local politicians have complained that investment decisions are often biased towards London commuter services, even though passenger growth in the West Midlands outstrips that of the South-East.

"The fact that we are seeing such high levels of growth despite the fall in reliability shows there is massive demand for regional rail services," said Coun Gary Clarke, chairman of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority, which sets policy for Centro.

Last year, it was revealed public transport had become the dominant mode of travel during the Birmingham rush hour for the first time - with morning peak passengers on buses, trains and trams slightly out-numbering motorists.

Centro said outside the rush hour the number of people arriving at Birmingham city centre rail stations had also increased.

Shopping developments such as the Bullring are believed to be behind the increase - although evening patronage also increased significantly, to its highest level in five years.

Coun Clarke (Con Walsall Streetly) added: "All this shows our plans are on the right track and underlines the growing importance of rail services and other modes of public transport in tackling congestion in the region."

Posted on 09:15 AM | Permalink

Dow Jones Newswire: January 25, 2006

Network Rail, the owner and operator of the U.K.'s national rail infrastructure network, will seek to sell more U.S. dollar bonds as well as more private placements, according to Fred Maroudas, director of funding, and Samantha Pitt, head of corporate finance.

"We will start looking at smaller private placements and the structured stuff starting initially with callables," Pitt told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of a Citigroup Inc. fixed-income conference.

"We will do more U.S. dollar (bonds)," she said. "But we will still see a large proportion of our debt portfolio in sterling given that it's the home market and we are trying to establish ourselves as a gilt surrogate."

Gilts is the common term for U.K. government bonds.

The firm, which expects to have total debt of over £20 billion (sterling) by the end of March 2009, will also look at funding in yen.

Until now, the firm has only tapped the U.S. dollar, sterling, euro and Australian dollar bond markets.

Pitt said the AAA rated firm expects to raise between US$5 billion and US$7 billion equivalent in the coming 12 months.

This calendar year, the only bond it has sold is a £250 million (sterling) five-year bond.

Last year, the firm raised the equivalent of around US$13 billion.

The sterling bond saw strong demand from Asia with around 50% of the deal placed with the region's central banks and other institutions.

"The Asian central banks are very important investors to us but we are seeing other larger Asian investors who are looking to other AAA investment opportunities particularly if they want to diversify out of U.S. dollars."

Network Rail attracted increased interest from the region as well as from the Middle East from late 2004 when it was rated AAA by all three agencies, and from mid 2005, when it changed from having a government agency guarantee to a direct government guarantee.

"That has opened up our credit to a large number of other Asian central banks like Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, also Middle Eastern banks which could only invest in sovereign entities with a direct guarantee," said Maroudas.

He said Network Rail provided exposure to rare U.K. government risk outside of gilts and sterling, support from a direct government guarantee and has none of the privatization risk attached to much other European agency debt.

Network Rail has a financial indemnity until 2052 under which the U.K. government is obliged to make payments to cover any debt service shortfall.

Posted on 08:48 AM | Permalink

Czech News Agency: Jan 23 2006

PRAGUE - Czech rail operator Ceske Drahy CD is losing tenders for regional rail lines in favour of private companies, daily newspaper Hospodarske Noviny HN reports today.

CD complains that terms of the tenders, called by the Transport Ministry, make it impossible for them to win the fight with the private companies, HN says.

The price is the second most important criterion in the tenders. CD says private investors offering state-of-the art carriages will win. It is the private companies than can come up with such offers despite CD offering lower cost bids.

"Since the very beginning we will thus be losing nine points in the assessment of our bid, with no practical chance to offset it with a cheaper offer," HN quotes a CD document.

The state has invited tenders for regional lines Pardubice (East Bohemia) - Liberec (North Bohemia) and Plzen (West Bohemia) - Most (North Bohemia).

A decision on the winner will be made by the end of January. The bidders are CD, Viamont and Connex Ceska Zeleznicni.

CD has modernised trains dating from the mid-1990s. It is bidding to run the railway track to Most for 8.3 million Czech Kroner, while its rival Viamont is demanding 53.7 million Czech Kroner.

The line to Liberec would be operated by CD for 36.8 million Czech Kroner, while Viamont and Connex offered prices twice as high.

The ministry refused to comment on the conditions set out in tenders, the daily says. The tenders have not yet been closed, said ministry spokeswoman Marcela Zizkova, adding that she is not allowed to provide any information. Transport Minister Milan Simonovsky said tenders will be closed before the end of the month, Zizkova added.

Posted on 01:39 PM | Permalink

The freight railways of North America are the most profitable in the world. No wonder - a study for the international rail group (Union Internationale de Chemin de Fer - UIC) in 2001 showed average US track maintenance and renewal costs were just over a fifth of the European average. Accidents involving US freight trains often carrying hazardous materials are the result of de-regulation and the US model of 'vertically integrated' rail privatisation. Confined Space, a web journal run by Jordan Barab, (former senior US Occupational Health and Safety official) focuses on the consequences of rail privatisation in the US.

Confined Space: January 23, 2006
by Jordan Barab

Graniteville, South Carolina: One Year On

One of the more chilling workplace and environmental incidents of last year was the chlorine release in Graniteville, SC that killed nine workers, the train's engineer and eight workers in an adjacent Avondale Mills factory, after a train carrying pressurized chlorine gas crashed into a parked train on Jan. 6, 2005.

In addition to the nine workers killed -- 240 were injured and more than 5,000 residents were forced to flee the poisonous gas that seeped into their homes for days.

That event was over a year ago, but the effects linger, not just in the physical health of the residents, but in the economic and social health of the community.

"It has been one thing after another," said Logan, an inspector for the Douglas Schmidt Law Office, which represents 600 residents and business owners who say the spill harmed their property or their health.

According to papers filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company had spent $52.5 million on cleanup costs by August, the end of its fiscal year.

And the physical and emotional health of the residents isn't great either:

Within 48 hours of the crash, the department conducted an epidemiological assessment of nearly 300 people. Nearly 80 percent experienced symptoms such as severe coughing, burning eyes, chest pains, skin rashes, headaches, dizziness and nausea.

"They just do what they have to do, and then they come inside," she said. "It's like the whole community has suffered a death."

Graniteville is a small community. Imagine the incredible devastation if this had happened in the middle of a large city....

Related Stories:

* Transportation Safety Board Recommends Actions To Prevent & Reduce Impact Of HazMat Train Accidents, December 6, 2005
* "The uninterrupted flow of hazardous materials is necessary for the health and safety of the U.S" January 8, 2005
* Just Be Careful Not To Breathe, January 6, 2005

Posted on 12:54 PM | Permalink

icBirmingham: Jan 23 2006
By Campbell Docherty, Transport Correspondent

The taxpayer will have to foot the bill of a train operator's "flat refusal" to negotiate with striking train guards, union bosses claimed.

More than 300 RMT members on the Birmingham-based Virgin Cross Country network ended their third Sunday strike last night with the company and union bosses at stalemate.

However, Virgin said it maintained a full service of 123 trains by using managers and other trained staff as guards to beat the strike.

A spokesman said the only disruption was because of engineering works around Leamington Spa in Warwickshire but otherwise it was a full service.

Virgin Cross Country said it was prepared to have pay talks with the RMT but only if it accepted productivity would form part of the discussions.

A spokesman for the company said the RMT had so far refused to accept the condition.

Members of the RMT voted for the strike action, which started on New Year's Day, over what it claimed was the "erosion" of Sunday pay rates.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "Virgin Cross Country is cynically throwing huge sums of money at keeping services running on Sundays because they know that the public will eventually foot the bill.

"The cost of settling our claim works out at less than £6 per shift, yet they are paying managers an extra £100 each to cover our members' jobs on strike days.

"They were so desperate last Sunday they shelled out for a cab fare to bring a manager more than 200 miles from Plymouth to Birmingham to take charge of a train.

"Anyone in their right mind will wonder why a company is prepared to spend several times more on a dispute than it would cost to settle it.

"But Virgin Cross Country know that the public - including people who never use their trains - will be given the bill and maybe that is why the Virgin board saw fit to overrule its own management and veto the settlement we thought we had reached last summer.

"We are ready for talks at any time, but Virgin Cross Country are demonstrating a contempt for our members, for the travelling public, and even for the managers they are expecting to do our members' jobs on top of their own full working week."

A spokesman for Virgin said it was "disappointed" by the strike and added the two sides had reached stalemate over the dispute.

"If we say OK to these demands we are left with two options to pay for them." he added. "Either we go to the Department for Transport and ask them to increase our subsidy, which they are not going to do, or we put fares up for the passenger and that is something we don't want to do.

"It is difficult to understand what the RMT mean by 'eroded' Sunday pay because in 2002 they successfully negotiated a deal in which the working week was reduced by two hours but the pay remained the same. With annual bonuses as well, we don't know why this strike action has come about."

Posted on 11:43 PM | Permalink

The Nation: January 24, 2006
Nation Correspondent (Nairobi)

The concessioning of the Kenya Railways Corporation is complete.

Yesterday, the Government signed the contract with the Rift Valley Railways putting an end to speculations on the State corporation's privatisation that has lately been slowed down by a High Court injunction.

Kenya Railways pensioners' body had gone to court claiming about Sh6.8 billion in pensions and Sh10 billion as golden handshake, severance allowances and other outstanding payments before the concessioning.

Rift Valley Railways managing director Roy Puffet and Transport minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere sealed the deal at a brief ceremony at the ministry's headquarters in Nairobi.

He will manage the corporation's assets worth Sh36 billion. They include rolling stock, equipment, infrastructure and real estate.

"In accordance with the timetable for the joint concession of the Kenya Uganda Railways, the Government of Kenya and Rift Valley Railways have signed the concession agreements," read a statement issued at the conclusion of the deal.

The South African firm will run the two railways for 25 years.

"The Government will not be breaking any law as there is no court order in place. There is also the concession time table that must be followed, " it added.

Posted on 11:39 PM | Permalink

Expatica: 23 January 2006

BERLIN - Fears grew in Germany Saturday of a railway strike in the middle of the football World Cup, the biggest event of this year in Germany, with two unions reportedly linking their threat to government privatization plans.

Railways are the cornerstone of cross-country public transport in Germany, carrying more people than either buses or planes.

Deutsche Bahn are an official sponsor of the German World Cup organising committee for the June 9-July 9 tournament and committed to providing transport for large numbers of World Cup fans and visitors, officials and the media.

Norbert Hansen, chairman of one union, Transnet, was reported by both Der Spiegel, the weekly magazine, and Tagesspiegel am Sonntag, a Berlin Sunday newspaper, to have warned the government not to break up Germany's state-owned railway company.

Officials are considering splitting Deutsche Bahn into one company to own and lease the tracks and another to operate the rolling stock, with the latter then being privatized via a stock-market offering. Trade unionists fear the new "efficiency" would mean job losses.

Transnet would "resist, if necessary with strikes", said Hansen, saying a demerger could mean 50,000 people would lose their jobs and leave workers employed under "dramatically worse contracts".

A smaller trade union, GDBA, said earlier it would strike if the government forced through an operational demerger.

Hansen said he could not rule out a strike on July 9, the day the final of the World Cup is to be played in Berlin: "A strike has to take place when it's needed. That could be July 9 or earlier or later. The politicians will be responsible for the timing."

Posted on 11:34 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 23 January 2006

At least 39 people have died after a passenger train plunged into a ravine in Serbia-Montenegro, officials say.

Many of the casualties are thought to be children

At least 135 people were injured near Podgorica, in one of the worst rail crashes in Montenegro's history.

The train derailed shortly after 1600 local time (1400GMT) at Bioce, about 10km (six miles) north of Podgorica.

Montenegrin Interior Minister Jusuf Kalamperovic told reporters in Podgorica that the accident was caused by a failure in the braking system.

The train - carrying around 300 people from the northern town of Bijelo Polje to the port town of Bar - plunged into the 100-metre-deep (330-foot-deep) ravine full of rocks.

'Many dead'

Helicopters hovered over the site as rescuers struggled amid bad weather and fading light to reach the stranded survivors.

"A terrible tragedy happened at Bioce" - President Filip Vujanovic

"I had fallen asleep when a loud noise woke me," survivor Stanislava Bukovic told the Associated Press news agency.

"Then I felt something hit my head and lost consciousness. The next thing I knew I was on this stretcher," she said.

Karman Chofu, another passenger, said: "It was horrible, I saw many dead and wounded around me."

Some of the passengers were thought to be children returning home from skiing trips.

Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic and Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic rushed to the crash site.

"A terrible tragedy happened at Bioce and everything is being done to reduce the number of casualties as much as possible," President Vujanovic told reporters.

"The whole republic has been mobilised to save lives. We are all hoping that this terrible accident will have as few casualties as possible," he added.

Serbia and Montenegro's rail network has suffered from years of under-investment but is used by much of the population simply because it is the cheapest method of travel, the BBC's Balkans correspondent Matt Prodger says.

Montenegro is the smaller of two republics making up Serbia and Montenegro, the only two republics of the former Yugoslavia still joined together.

It has a population of about 620,00.

Posted on 10:53 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 23 January 2006

A legal battle is looming over a rail firm's plans to launch new services between Yorkshire and London. Grand Central says its trains could run without public money.

Rail regulators are considering plans by Grand Central to run trains on the East Coast Main Line in competition with existing operator GNER.

It plans direct services to the capital from York, Bradford and Halifax.

It says it will consider legal action if it does not get what it wants, while GNER says it will also go to court if a decision goes against it.

GNER argues that it needs the available extra capacity to run a further 12 daily services between Leeds and London, which it promised in its successful franchise agreement last year.

Grand Central said new services can be operated on a commercial basis without government subsidy.

The matter is being raised at a meeting of the Rail Regulators Board on Monday, although a decision could be deferred until later this week.

Posted on 04:36 PM | Permalink

Independent Online: 22 January 2006
By Michael Harrison, Business Editor

Rail regulators meet today to decide whether to permit greater competition on the East Coast Main Line, one of the UK's premier intercity routes, amid indications that new train operators seeking to break into the market will be disappointed.

The Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR), chaired by Chris Bolt, is holding a board meeting to determine whether to allow Grand Central to begin operating services from Sunderland and Bradford to London on the East Coast line, which is used predominantly by GNER. Hull Trains, a subsidiary of First Group, has also applied for more services.

Industry insiders say that with the line already close to capacity and GNER committed to a big increase in services to meet the requirements of its new 10-year franchise, Grand Central and Hull Trains are likely to come away frustrated.

GNER has applied to run scores of additional trains on the route, the busiest intercity line in Europe, to meet its ambitious growth targets. It needs to increase passenger numbers by 30 per cent to more than 20 million a year to afford the £1.3bn in premium payments it has agreed to make to the Government.

The biggest increase will be on the London to Leeds route, where the number of trains a day is due to rise from 53 to 65, allowing GNER to operate a half-hourly service throughout the week. There will be other service improvements on the route, which runs from King's Cross to Edinburgh via York and Newcastle.

One source said: "If you think about it, capacity is already constrained, GNER has contractual commitments to meet and there is £1.3bn of money owing to the Treasury. Why would the ORR want to jeopardise that?"

In a submission to the ORR before Christmas, Network Rail warned that without further infrastructure improvements, "it will be difficult to deliver the additional services proposed by GNER and Grand Central".

One of the major bottlenecks is at King's Cross, where there are insufficient platforms but no plans to build more until 2012. One option for the ORR would be to use some of the capacity reserved for freight operators to allow an increase in passenger services, but this would be resisted by English, Scottish and Welsh Railways, the country's biggest freight operator.

Rail regulators meet today to decide whether to permit greater competition on the East Coast Main Line, one of the UK's premier intercity routes, amid indications that new train operators seeking to break into the market will be disappointed.

The Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR), chaired by Chris Bolt, is holding a board meeting to determine whether to allow Grand Central to begin operating services from Sunderland and Bradford to London on the East Coast line, which is used predominantly by GNER. Hull Trains, a subsidiary of First Group, has also applied for more services.

Industry insiders say that with the line already close to capacity and GNER committed to a big increase in services to meet the requirements of its new 10-year franchise, Grand Central and Hull Trains are likely to come away frustrated.

GNER has applied to run scores of additional trains on the route, the busiest intercity line in Europe, to meet its ambitious growth targets. It needs to increase passenger numbers by 30 per cent to more than 20 million a year to afford the £1.3bn in premium payments it has agreed to make to the Government.

The biggest increase will be on the London to Leeds route, where the number of trains a day is due to rise from 53 to 65, allowing GNER to operate a half-hourly service throughout the week. There will be other service improvements on the route, which runs from King's Cross to Edinburgh via York and Newcastle.

One source said: "If you think about it, capacity is already constrained, GNER has contractual commitments to meet and there is £1.3bn of money owing to the Treasury. Why would the ORR want to jeopardise that?"

In a submission to the ORR before Christmas, Network Rail warned that without further infrastructure improvements, "it will be difficult to deliver the additional services proposed by GNER and Grand Central".

One of the major bottlenecks is at King's Cross, where there are insufficient platforms but no plans to build more until 2012. One option for the ORR would be to use some of the capacity reserved for freight operators to allow an increase in passenger services, but this would be resisted by English, Scottish and Welsh Railways, the country's biggest freight operator.

Posted on 07:48 AM | Permalink

Daily Telegraph: 23/01/2006
By Fiona Govan

Britons pay more to travel by rail than anyone else in Europe, a survey has shown.

British railways are officially the most expensive after research revealed that £10 will buy commuters an average of 38 miles. That is almost three times the cost of travelling the same distance in France.

The same money would buy rail travellers around 350 miles in Slovakia, 200 miles in Italy and 100 miles in Spain.

Tom Brake, the transport spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, who compiled the report, said it was disgraceful that in this country each mile travelled by train cost nearly £4.

"Ten pounds in Britain will barely take you from one county to the next - in Europe it takes you to the next country. The Government's transport policy is failing."

At the beginning of this year train fares across Britain increased by up to three times the rate of inflation. Regulated fares, which cover season tickets and saver tickets, went up by an average of 3.4 per cent while unregulated fares, including cheap day returns, rose by an average of 4.5 per cent.

Travellers to London were particularly badly hit with the price of a single Tube fare rising from £2 to £3, making London the most expensive capital for underground travel in the world.

The rail companies defended the increases of up to nine per cent, claiming that they need the additional revenue to invest in infrastructure.

James King, of the Rail Passengers Council, the national rail watchdog, said: "Passengers are increasingly dissatisfied with the value for money of rail tickets in Britain and there is a danger that we are creating a rich person's railway."

Travellers who pay £10 to travel 38 miles in Britain get a better deal in Ireland (44 miles), Germany (55 miles), Switzerland (64 miles), Belgium (80 miles), Spain (97 miles), Netherlands (98 miles), Finland (105 miles), France (107 miles), Austria (121 miles), Slovenia (202 miles), Italy (223 miles), Czech Republic (259 miles), Hungary (279 miles), Poland (315 miles and Slovakia (335 miles).

Posted on 07:43 AM | Permalink

The Scotsman: 20 Jan 2006
IAN SWANSON - SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR

RAIL fares on longer journeys could more than double under government plans to give train operators more freedom to set prices, it was claimed today.

Ministers are said to be poised to scrap the requirement on rail companies to offer "saver" tickets at prices set by the Government.

The move is expected to mean passengers who cannot book ahead will have to pay a substantial premium.

At the moment, a saver return from Edinburgh to London costs £94.10, but the standard open return is £220. The saver return fare from Edinburgh to Manchester is £70.10, compared to a standard open return costing £144. And an Edinburgh-Birmingham saver return is £88.70, while the standard open return costs £143.

Since the railways were privatised under the last Conservative government, the only fares which have been subject to regulation are saver and season tickets. At first, saver price rises were restricted to one per cent below inflation and are now limited to one per cent plus inflation.

But the House of Commons transport committee has been taking evidence on whether these regulations should continue.

Its report is expected next month, but reports today suggested ministers had already been persuaded to drop the saver fare restrictions.

And transport campaigners voiced fears that rail companies would abuse their power to set prices if saver tickets are scrapped.

One was quoted as saying: "We could end up with a railway open only to rich people."

But train operators insisted enormous fare rises were unlikely.

They told the House of Commons committee that there was no need for regulation of saver fares because the market was effectively regulating the prices.

They said more and more people were getting cheap fares by booking ahead, even though that required them to travel by a specific train and removed the flexibility of turning up and getting on a train.

Cheaper fares by advanced booking allows the train companies to attract passengers to quieter trains. And they said sales of saver tickets had declined, but overall revenue had increased as so many cheap tickets had been sold.

A spokesman for Virgin Trains said: "Long-distance operators face intense competition from the private car and airlines. We have found by experience that the best way to meet that competition is by improving train services and offering cheap fares.

"The lowest priced tickets are already unregulated, but are still offering journeys which in real terms are cheaper than they would have been in earlier years."

Both Virgin and GNER now allow cheap tickets to be booked up to the day before travel.

The Virgin spokesman said: "Sales of advanced purchase cheap tickets have increased substantially since we removed the original deadline of three, seven and 14 days last September.

"But there will always be a place for a reasonable turn-up-and-go fare because one of the great advantages of rail travel in Britain is the ability to just turn up and get on a train."

Posted on 07:39 AM | Permalink

New York Daily News: January 20, 2006
By PETE DONOHUE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

His union rejects contract with MTA by just seven votes

Bus driver Ivia Aiken reacts joyfully to the union's vote

Here we go again.

After putting New Yorkers through a crippling three-day strike last month, city transit workers have dropped another bombshell - rejecting a tentative contract by a margin thinner than a MetroCard.

After more than 22,000 votes were finally counted yesterday, the three-year offer went down to defeat by seven votes, 11,234 to 11,227.

While the shocking rejection doesn't mean another strike is imminent, it did expose bitter divisions in the Transport Workers Union Local 100, as negotiators from both sides head back to the bargaining table.

A clearly disappointed and somber Local 100 President Roger Toussaint announced the results at the office of the local's public relations firm in Manhattan, not the West Side union hall.

Flanked by his two top deputies, Toussaint read a brief statement that blamed a number of forces for the defeat - everyone from Gov. Pataki, who had criticized a key provision of the now-dead deal, to union dissidents whom Toussaint claimed waged a campaign of lies.

"We believe this result is a by-product of a number of negative and inappropriate interferences," Toussaint said.

Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg later urged both sides to move quickly and it appeared they would.

"We go back to the drawing board," Toussaint said.

But Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Peter Kalikow said that although his negotiators were willing to talk, the agency will take steps next week toward binding arbitration.

The MTA will file a request with the state Public Employment Relations Board "in order to ensure a timely resolution of this matter for the sake of all New Yorkers," Kalikow said.

The rejected 37-month pact would have given the 33,700 TWU workers pay hikes totaling 10.5% and Martin Luther King Day as a new holiday. It would keep the retirement age at 55, and called for thousands of dollars in pension refunds for many workers.

But the deal also called for significant givebacks, including the first-ever worker contributions toward health-care insurance - a make-or-break issue for some who opposed the contract.

While that contribution was a modest 1.5% of workers earnings, many clearly felt the concession would have set a precedent where management would continue to take bigger and bigger bites out their paychecks.

"It's a moral victory for transit workers," said union official John Samuelsen, a former ally of Toussaint's who campaigned against the contract. "The notion that we should no longer have unpaid health care has been defeated."

The health-care contribution - coupled with the Taylor Law fines workers face for their strike - would have wiped out any wage gains in the first year, opponents noted.

They also pointed out that the pact would move the contract's expiration date from mid-December into mid-January, out of the holiday shopping season. That would weaken the bargaining power of a union that has walked off the job three times since the 1960s.

"We've all got families to feed and rent to pay," local vice president Marty Goodman said. "We're not selling house and home for a crummy contract like this one."

Toussaint led his members out on strike on Dec. 20, stranding millions of riders and costing the city and businesses an estimated $1 billion. They returned to work after three days on the picket lines. State mediators helped broker a tentative deal.

Mediators stand ready to help again, PERB Executive Director James Edgar said.

Toussaint did not take questions after his brief press conference; some of the dissidents, who stayed longer to address the media, dismissed talk of another strike.

Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign agreed that another strike wasn't in the cards.

"Our advice to riders for now is simple: Take a breath and await developments," he said.

Posted on 11:32 PM | Permalink

New York Daily News: January 22, 2006
By PETE DONOHUE

Three little-known rabble-rousers - a radical token booth clerk, a son of a veteran striker and an immigrant once fired by union boss Roger Toussaint - played big roles in the defeat of the tentative transit workers contract.

After leading bus and subway workers out in an illegal strike last month, Toussaint signed a new work agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that he believed would be ratified. The deal called for 10.5% raises over 37 months but required workers - for the first time - to contribute 1.5% of their wages toward their health insurance.

Marty Goodman, John Mooney and Ainsley Stewart said no way.

They blasted Toussaint, the Transport Workers Union Local 100 president, and his pact to anyone who would listen or would read their flyers.

Team Toussaint has variously called the dissenters loose cannons with little regard for the truth, career inciters or political opportunists. Supporters say the three men are true union activists who are fighting for workers' rights, including the right to dissent.

Either way, they have colorful backgrounds of confrontation and agitation.

* Marty Goodman, 55, has been a token booth clerk and TWU activist in the city for nearly two decades. He is known for berating MTA board members for the alleged mistreatment of workers, the closing of token booths and fare hikes.

"2005 is payback time," he thundered at the December board meeting, when he demanded annual raises of 10%. "No justice. No train. No bus. No us."

His leftist beliefs, however, have led to more dangerous locations than the subways and MTA meetings.

Goodman said he was in Haiti as a reporter for the left-wing New York Guardian in 1986 when brutal dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier was overthrown. He returned to the troubled island as an election observer in 1990, when former priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide was voted in as president, he said.

Three years ago, Goodman, who is Jewish, traveled to the West Bank to protest for Palestinian rights, he said.

* John Mooney, 39, a former token booth agent who now is a full-time TWU staffer, is the son of Scottish and Irish parents and grew up in a union home. His father, an engineer who ran the boiler room of a high-rise, periodically would go out on strike, he recalled.

"You have to stand up to the boss and fight for what you want sometimes," he said. "Sometimes going without pay and suffering is part of the process."

He tried self-employment for a while, operating food carts, before becoming a transit worker in the early 1990s.

* Ainsley Stewart, 46, who left Guyana when he was in his early 20s, landed a mechanic's job with the Transit Authority in the late 1980s. He tussled with managers and survived an effort to fire him after he complained about an unsafe working condition, he said.

"If the TA didn't try and fire me, I probably wouldn't have gotten involved" with the union, he said.

Stewart was put on the union payroll as a division chairman in 2001 - only to be fired by Toussaint 17 months later. He was dismissed on charges of not attending to union duties, which he denies.

To Toussaint's dismay, Stewart survived. He was elected to a vice presidential post in 2004 and sits on the local's executive board - with Goodman and Mooney.

Posted on 11:20 PM | Permalink

January 22, 2006
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE and SEWELL CHAN

Typically, when a union's members reject a contract, negotiators from management and labor reconvene and seek to reach a revised deal - often with a few tweaks - that is more palatable to the union's rank and file yet does not cost management an extra cent.

But New York City's continuing transit dispute, which involved the first systemwide strike in a quarter-century, has not followed tried-and-true patterns.

As a result, bus and subway riders find themselves in uncharted and uncomfortable territory: never before have the city's transit workers first gone on strike and then voted down their contract.

With the announcement on Friday of the results of the union's ratification vote, the union's stunned leaders and the equally stunned Metropolitan Transportation Authority are not sure where to go from here, not sure how to put the contract back together again. Although nobody is predicting another strike, there is a nagging concern that things could once again fall badly apart.

"All this means that transit riders are going to have to take some Tums," said Joshua B. Freeman, a labor historian at the City University of New York Graduate Center. "There's going to be a lot of uncertainty until this thing is finally resolved."

So much anger, ill feeling, dissent and political jockeying remain within Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union that some unpredictable and undesirable things might happen if the union's members or its dissident leaders flex their muscles.

David L. Gregory, a labor law professor at St. John's University, speculated on one possibility: "The militant members of the union will continue to work, but they may be prone to a wildcat job action or slowdown, which could be almost as chaotic as a systemwide shutdown." Judges might view such actions as illegal work stoppages and impose further penalties.

If nothing else, however, the workers' rejection of the settlement shows that they are an angry group - angry enough to take part in an illegal three-day strike and face fines, and angry enough to embarrass their union's president, Roger Toussaint, by shooting down a settlement he had signed.

But they also are angry at the transportation authority, for demanding concessions when it had a $1 billion surplus, and they are angry at Gov. George E. Pataki, for warning that he might block a contract provision that many workers loved. That provision, valued at $130 million, would give about 20,000 transit workers thousands of dollars of refunds on their pension contributions.

Mr. Toussaint blamed others for the outcome, saying, "We believe this result is a byproduct of a number of negative and inappropriate interferences." But some union members and labor experts say the contract lost because he was slow to campaign for it, although his aides say he was hamstrung by an agreement with the transportation authority not to gloat over the deal, which called for raises totaling 10.5 percent over 37 months.

The last time the transit workers rejected their contract, in 1992, the negotiators made a few tweaks in the settlement, giving the workers a little more retroactive pay, but keeping the same overall raises. The workers overwhelmingly approved the revised deal.

This time, however, Mr. Toussaint is no doubt feeling pressure to ask for more than a few tweaks. Indeed, he may demand one huge change: that the authority drop the provision that most angered union members and probably caused them to repudiate the contract, if only by 7 votes of the 22,461 cast. That provision called for transit workers to pay part of their health insurance premiums, for the first time.

Under the rejected deal, workers were to pay 1.5 percent of their wages toward health premiums, with that percentage rising in future years. "They didn't go on strike so they could start paying health insurance premiums," said John F. Mooney, a union vice president and Toussaint foe, who helped lead the campaign to vote no. "They're not willing to pay a percentage of their salaries toward health care that will go up."

While Mr. Toussaint might ask to jettison the provision on health premiums, nobody expects the transportation authority to oblige him, because dropping it would cost the authority more than $30 million a year. The authority has hailed the provision, saying it would help rein in spiraling benefit costs.

"In this type of situation, the parties normally try to figure out if there is a way to reach a solution that both sides could live with within the same cost structure," said Robert W. Linn, a former New York City director of labor relations. "Assuming that the health premiums were a major reason for rejection, that would certainly be a difficult issue to deal with, since it's so important to the management and the city." After the transit settlement was reached, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg suggested that he would like future city contracts to require municipal workers, too, to begin paying part of their health premiums.

The next steps in the dispute could become more volatile. Union members could turn even angrier if Mr. Pataki insists that the authority drop the pension refund, which he has repeatedly condemned, saying it wrongly rewarded participants in an illegal strike. The governor controls 6 of the 14 votes on the authority's board.

"This really gives the rhetorical opportunity to the governor to resume his shots at the union, and that could be very inflammatory," Professor Gregory said.

If new face-to-face negotiations go nowhere, mediators might be called in to lend a hand, but if mediation also were to fail, the alternative is binding arbitration. The transportation authority has already requested such arbitration, but if Mr. Toussaint and dissident leaders agree on anything, it is that they oppose arbitration because it would deny transit workers a vote on the ultimate deal.

Nonetheless, many labor experts say binding arbitration might be the best course for both sides, because both are being asked to undertake perhaps impossible horse-trading to revamp the deal in ways that will make it acceptable.

"Arbitration can make more sense because arbitrators have a lot of experience putting together a deal within a given cost structure," Mr. Linn said. "An arbitrator is not likely to decide on a settlement that costs more or costs less."

Strange as it may sound, not just the authority, but perhaps Mr. Toussaint as well, may have little desire to negotiate an agreement that is far more generous to the workers. The authority certainly does not want a renegotiated settlement to cost more than the rejected one, while Mr. Toussaint might not want a more generous settlement because it might make him look weak - as if he had negotiated too stingy a deal the first time around.

"It is hard to imagine how a bigger victory can be won at the negotiating table," said Robert W. Snyder, an associate professor of journalism at Rutgers University and the author of an oral history of the transit workers. "It is even harder to imagine them winning if they go on another strike."

Posted on 11:09 PM | Permalink

The New York Times: January 21, 2006
By SEWELL CHAN and STEVEN GREENHOUSE

By a margin of only seven votes, members of the New York City transit workers' union yesterday rejected the contract settlement that their leaders reached with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the aftermath of last month's debilitating subway and bus strike.

The rejection, which seemed to catch city officials off guard, derails a painfully wrought agreement, represents a stunning defeat for the union's president, Roger Toussaint, and opens a potential Pandora's box of complications in any future negotiations. Those on both sides, however, were quick to say that another strike, while a possibility, was unlikely.

At the center of the rejection seemed to be a last-minute concession by the union, after the strike of Dec. 20 to 22, that its members pay 1.5 percent of their wages toward health insurance premiums in return for the authority's dropping its insistence on less generous pensions for new workers. Just how unpopular that change was with union members became starkly clear yesterday.

"This contract is for the older guys," said Greg Davis, 35, a bus driver on the B43 route in Brooklyn, referring to a pension refund that was to go to most longtime workers. "I started in 2000 and this contract doesn't benefit me in any way at all as far as getting anything new. There's like one more vacation day, but that's about it. The 1.5 percent is the worst thing."

As was the case throughout the tense run-up to the strike, the next chapter in the struggle is unclear. Negotiators from both sides could resume face-to-face bargaining to determine how to make the deal more palatable to members, or they could seek help from mediators, but those approaches might be fruitless because the authority is unlikely to offer costly new concessions.

The authority said it would petition for binding arbitration, an option that Mr. Toussaint has rejected in the past.

"The rejection obviously complicates matters," said Richard A. Curreri, director of conciliation at the state's Public Employment Relations Board, one of three mediators who devised the strike-ending agreement last month.

Of 22,461 votes cast by a noon deadline yesterday, 11,227 workers voted to ratify the contract and 11,234 voted to reject it, a margin of just 7 votes or 0.03 percent.

Looking grim and tired, Mr. Toussaint, the president of Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union, which represents 33,700 subway and bus workers at the authority, said he was disappointed "to go back to the drawing board," but he gave no indication of his plans. He accused Gov. George E. Pataki, union dissidents and the authority's negotiators of dampening support for the vote. "The net effect was that members came to doubt that the key benefits of the deal were forthcoming," he said.

Union leaders would not say whether they will request a recount. For the first time, the union conducted a ratification vote through the Internet and over the telephone and not through the mail; members voted using a unique numeric code that they received in the mail. The American Arbitration Association administered the vote.

The authority's chairman, Peter S. Kalikow, said he was disappointed that the members rejected a settlement reached "after hundreds of hours of negotiation."

He added: "The M.T.A. is amenable to meting with the union in the coming days. However, in order to ensure a timely resolution of this matter for the sake of all New Yorkers, we will also begin to take the necessary steps to pursue binding arbitration."

Joanna Rose, a spokeswoman for the governor, said only that both sides should "engage in good-faith negotiations" and "expeditiously resolve their differences."

After last month's agreement, Governor Pataki - who appoints the authority's board and directly controls 6 of the 14 votes - expressed anger at one key element of it: the authority's decision to pay about $130 million to 20,000 union members who had made overpayments to their pension system from 1994 to 2001. At the time he threatened to veto such a measure, which would require legislative approval. It is unclear whether he will try to block that concession from being a part of a new deal .

The rejected settlement involved a 37-month contract with pay raises averaging 3.5 percent in each of the next three years. The authority abandoned its insistence that new workers be required to reach age 62 before being able to collect full pensions (compared with age 55 for current workers) or contribute 6 percent of their earnings toward their pensions (compared with 2 percent for current workers).

John Samuelsen, the chairman of the track division, one of 15 divisions in the union, said that the rejection of the contract was "a moral victory" for the workers. "Even in the face of bribes in the form of pension refunds, transit workers stood firm and refused to accept the idea of escalating 1.5 percent health care payments."

Kathryn S. Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, the city's largest association of business leaders, suggested that workers rejected the contract out of anger toward both the authority and the union leadership.

"Clearly, everything we've been hearing about chronic labor-management problems is coming home to roost," she said. "It's a sign of substantial problems between union leaders and members. From the standpoint of the business community, nothing is worse than uncertainty, and this casts another pall over the reliability of the city's transit system."

In the last two weeks, Mr. Toussaint urged members to ratify the deal at a series of townhall-style meetings. The union also placed automated phone calls and ran radio advertisements.

But Mr. Toussaint, a former track maintenance worker who has led the union since 2000, has faced rising dissent. In a news conference, he was on the defensive. He said the authority "tried to back out of the deal by sabotaging the vote" and accused union dissidents of distorting the value of the settlement with "downright lies."

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg called the vote "disappointing news to all New Yorkers" and urged the union and the authority to "work together on an amicable resolution to their contract dispute."

The last time the union rejected a proposed contract was in March 1992. Members voted down a settlement that called for 6.5 percent raises over two years; the terms were modified slightly, to include more retroactive pay, and the revised contract was ratified two months later.

In the vote that ended yesterday, about two-thirds of the union's members voted, slightly higher than the roughly 60 percent that voted in the last two contract ratifications, in 1999 and 2002.

Other municipal unions have voted down deals in recent years. In 1992, representatives of the city's firefighters rejected a deal that called for a 4.5 percent raise over 30 months. An arbitration panel later imposed a contract that included a 4.5 percent raise over 15 months, but required firefighters to work the equivalent of one more week each year.

In 1995, the city's teachers rejected a five-year deal that included a two-year pay freeze, but months later, they ratified a largely identical contract that contained modest improvements.

In 2002, representatives of the city's firefighters voted down a settlement, reached in 2001 by a previous union president, that called for an 11.75 percent raise over 30 months. The union later negotiated a contract that included an 11.75 percent raise over 24 months.

Posted on 10:59 PM | Permalink

The Observer: January 22, 2006
Richard Wachman

Eurotunnel, heavily indebted Channel tunnel operator, will go bust in January 2007 if a deal can't be reached with creditors, the company warned last night.

A spokesman said: 'A year from now we will have to start paying back a significant part of our debt - at that point, we will be insolvent.'

The company's comments come as Eurotunnel chairman Jacques Gounon is trying to prevent a crisis by negotiating an outline agreement on a debt restructuring deal with creditors who are owed £6.4bn.

In the summer, Gounon was granted a waiver by lenders to enable him to enter discussions about a rescue package without breaching the terms of covenants that prevent talks taking place without the banks' agreement.

But Eurotunnel's senior spokesman, John Keefe, said: 'We will not ask for another waiver unless we feel that we have made substantial progress. Otherwise, a further waiver is pointless.'

Gounon has told Eurotunnel's predominantly French investors that he is determined to force the banks to forgive debt rather than agree to a restructuring that could involve a dilution of their shareholdings. But the creditors have resisted his demands and are insisting that debts can only be reduced if shareholders give up some or most of their shares in return for a debt write-off of around £4bn.

Eurotunnel makes profits at the operating level, and last year it saw the first increase in revenues from its car and and truck shuttle services since 2002. But the original traffic projections for the tunnel proved wildly optimistic. The firm is also hurt by massive interest payments; and its finances will deteriorate further in November when rail freight operators will no longer be required to pay minimum usage charges.

Posted on 04:10 PM | Permalink

The Cumberland News: 20/01/2006
Political editor

FEARS that Wetheral and Brampton railway stations could close have prompted Carlisle City Council to lobby Transport Secretary Alistair Darling.

The Tyne Valley Rail Users? Group believes seven smaller stations on the Carlisle to Newcastle route ? including Wetheral, Brampton and Haltwhistle ? are under threat.

City councillors meeting on Tuesday voted unanimously to resist any closures.

The council will write to Mr Darling, to the Department for Transport and the Commons Transport Committee to argue that the stations stay open.

Wetheral councillor Barry Earp told the meeting: ?In 1967 Wetheral station was closed as part of the Beeching cuts.

?It reopened in 1981 after much lobbying and public consultation.

?Now we learn that a leaked document from the Strategic Rail Authority proposes the closure of stations with less than 100 passengers. I can?t see how you can get 100 passengers a day at a rural station.?

Mr Earp said that only seven trains in each direction called at Wetheral and Brampton on weekdays.

The best way to attract passengers, he argued, was for more trains to stop there.

Mr Earp said: ?The Tyne Valley Rail Users? Group wants trains to stop every two hours.

?At present, you can get a train into work in Carlisle in the morning but, if you leave work at 5.30pm, there isn?t a train back until 9.20pm.?

Mr Earp said that, with better advertising and promotion, the line could attract many more commuters.

He added: ?You don?t have the aggravation of driving down Warwick Road and you don?t have any parking charges.

?You can travel in peace and quiet and it only takes seven minutes from Wetheral to the city centre.?

Councillor Doreen Parsons, who represents Great Corby and Geltsdale, said closing the stations would add to the 23,000 vehicles a day using Warwick Road.

And Currock councillor Colin Glover said: ?This is the wrong time to be looking at cutting stations. We should be looking to open more.

?The platform is still in place at Scotby and there?s no reason why we shouldn?t bring that back into operation as part of Carlisle Renaissance.?

He also said there was scope for a station at Durranhill.

The Tyne Valley Rail Users? Group says the threat to stations is contained in a draft strategy prepared for the old Strategic Rail Authority and in a recent review of the Northern rail franchise.

The review was ordered by Mr Darling in response to concerns about the mounting costs of rail subsidies.

Neither document has been made public.

Mr Darling told The Cumberland News last month that the review would not lead to wholesale line closures but he could not rule out the closure of lightly-used stations.

Posted on 04:06 PM | Permalink

Xinhua: 2006-01-21

LHASA -- Mechanical failure is considered as the root cause for a fatal collision of two locomotives Friday on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Line in which one people was killed and eight more injured.

The mishap took place around 7 p.m. Friday near a railway station some 127 km away from Lhasa, regional capital.

A railway worker who was injured in the collision recalled that around 7 p.m. Friday, one locomotive with nine slag conveyers attached to it bumped into another locomotive parked for repairs on the railroad after traveling at a speed between 30 km per hour to 40 km per hour from the onset and later gaining a speed as a result of mechanical failure.

Manpower has been organized to do the repairing work at the site of the accident and it's expected the railway line will be cleared off all obstacles by 5 p.m. on Saturday.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's longest plateau railroad, stretching 1,956 kilometers from Qinghai's provincial capital, Xining, to Tibet's capital, Lhasa, completed construction last October, a feat heralded as another Great Wall in comparison.

The railway will put into commercial use, linking Lhasa with other major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xining, Chengdu and Guangzhou after tests to be held in July 2006.

Posted on 03:57 PM | Permalink

The Times Of India: January 22, 2006
Bisheshwar Mishra

NEW DELHI: Railway minister Lalu Prasad's budget preparation could be in for trouble, with the National Federation of Railway Employees and Central government employees jointly threatening to serve notice for an indefinite strike in early February.

Two prominent unions - the All India Railwaymen's Federation and the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen - along with a host of organisations of Central government staff are pressing for indefinite strike from January-end.

According to AIRF general secretary J P Chaubey, a formal notice for the strike will be served on February 7. In case the government does not respond immediatelty the trade unions could insist on going ahead with the strike. In such an atmosphere the staff may not cooperate even during the notice period which often happens.

Thus there will be no non-gazetted Railway staff around to assist the senior officers in budget preparation. The secret nature of budget preparation means it cannot be delegated to anyone else, a senior office-bearer of the Railway Board Staff Association which represents the class three and non-gazetted staff of the railways told The Times of India on Monday.

Posted on 03:30 PM | Permalink

The China Post: 2006/1/22

BEIJING (AP) - Rescuers were pumping tons of water out of a flooded railway tunnel to save 11 construction workers missing since the site flooded, the official Xinhua News Agency said Sunday.

The flood occurred Saturday morning in Lichuan County in central China's Hubei province, Xinhua said. It said 14 workers were inside the tunnel, which was to connect a rail line from Hubei's Yichang county to Wanzhou district in the southern city of Chongqing, when it flooded. Three managed to escape.

Xinhua cited rescuers as saying it would take more than 30 hours to pump out the more than 150,000 cubic meters (5.3 million cubic feet) of water that inundated the tunnel.

The report did not say what caused the flood.

China has a dismal workplace safety record, with industrial accidents killing more than 136,000 lives in 2004 according to the latest government statistics.

Posted on 02:56 PM | Permalink

RMT: 20 January 2006

BRITAIN'S BIGGEST rail union today welcomed the government's decision to delay plans to abolish essential fire-safety regulations for sub-surface stations which were introduced after the 1987 King's Cross fire that claimed 31 lives.

The government had previously said that it would allow the 'Section 12' regulations to continue in operation for at least six months after the introduction of the new and less specific Fire Safety Order. However, ministers have now indicated that the new Order will itself be delayed, for a minimum of three months and perhaps until October, which is the earliest the Scottish Executive has said it can be implemented. That could leave the existing regulations in place until April 2007.

"This reprieve is excellent news for fire safety in sub-surface railway stations all over Britain," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"The Section 12 regulations lay down fire-safety measures that are simply not specified in the new Fire Safety Order, and RMT, alongside the Fire Brigades Union and Aslef, has been campaigning hard to keep them in place.

"We hope the government will now use the delay to think again about the wisdom of abolishing specific fire-safety measures in favour of what amounts to a discretionary approach.

"Relying on employers not to cut corners is simply not good enough, as far too many people - transport workers and passengers - already know only too well.

"It is good to see that there is to be an adjournment debate on the regulations next Wednesday in the House of Commons, and we hope that the government will now accept that the regulations should be left in place for good.

"The minimum standards that the regulations lay down were deemed essential by the Fennell report into the 1987 Kings Cross fire, and in today?s climate they are even more essential now," Bob Crow said.

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 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'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 60 MPs

EDM 549 - Fire Precautions Regulations

In the name of John McDonnell and 59 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."

Posted on 07:34 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 19 January 2006

Three people have been treated for breathing difficulties after a Tube train became stranded in a tunnel and its carriages filled with smoke.

The Northern Line train drew to a halt outside Bank station where it remained for 10 minutes on Thursday.

Fire crews treated one man and two members of staff for smoke inhalation.

A Transport for London spokesman said Bank station was evacuated, adding the smoke might have been caused by sparks from track insulation.

He said Northern Line services were suspended and, as is routine, London Bridge station was also evacuated.

London fire crews were called at 1340 GMT on Thursday to reports of smoke on the platform.

Posted on 07:31 AM | Permalink

RailwayPeople: January 18th 2006
Colin Wheeler

With the trial of two rail contractors charged in the fatal Tebay incident underway at Newcastle Crown Court this month, a UK rail industry journal reviews recent changes to Occupational Health and Safety management in the industry.

The author Colin Wheeler, a former Balfour Beatty Civil Engineer who writes a column in 'RailStaff' also edits other professional journals and has represented the Railway Labour Supply Organisation concludes that the frequency of fatalities and accidents is worse than in the 'bad old days' of British Rail, near misses are going unreported, safety regulation is dangerously complacent, self-congratulatory and hidebound by academic gobbledygook, while front line management is left to operate in an environment where safety can be compromised by time and money considerations.

Safety and Economics

Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) will become an integral part of the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in April this year, operating from a combined headquarters in central London. Their aim is to "integrate safety and economic regulation." Their chairman, Chris Bolt, said in December last year that their aim was to manage a "seamless transition, followed by changes to integrate economics and safety." Does that imply that safety is a priority, but has its price?

The ORR sees their task as bringing together safety, reliability and efficiency. But the public perception of rail safety is heavily influenced by our press, which sees rail as a readership-pulling vehicle for near hysterical reporting. As the MORI head of transport research commented recently, transport journalists are as remarkably biased in favour of air travel as they are against rail!

Let's return to the bad old days

The Railway Strategic Safety Plan for 2006 can be found on the website of the Railway Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). It speaks of "maintaining the level of safety in a constantly changing environment." Specifically it refers to "reducing the risks to trackside workers" and "developing competency in the workforce."

Whatever happened to the principle of continuing improvement? Has the changing environment driven the authors to set a lower target of merely trying to ensure that things do not get any worse? In the price "they" are prepared to pay, is the aim to suffer as many track worker fatalities and major injuries this year as in 2005?

I want to see a major reduction, and believe we should aim to return to the "bad old days" of British Rail when the /industry enjoyed periods of 15 months and more without a single fatality. Our equipment and training is allegedly better now!

A more cost effective CIRAS claimed

The plan refers to the need for compliance with the European Railway Safety Directive, but this appears only to have adjusted its format. There is a self-congratulatory reference to CIRAS (the Confidential Incident Reporting System), which says that "the governance arrangements were radically overhauled in 2005, creating a more cost effective, streamlined structure. The overhaul now makes it possible to include all industry staff in the system."

Possible maybe, but how many people know about it? Has the usage increased or fallen? I have always been convinced by the arguments that for every accident, there are a large number of near misses and if the details of these are openly and quickly reported and acted upon, injuries and even fatalities may be avoided. But at least this year's plan says that the intention is to "promote the existence of a credible confidential reporting system" and goes on to refer to the benefits this could bring.

"Hit or Miss"

Apart from the dreadful number of track staff fatalities last year, there were too many major injuries. Tellingly, the number of reported near misses is about the same as the number of these injuries. If almost all the near misses were reported, I would expect their number to be five or even ten times the injury report figures. My conclusion is that the majority of near misses are going unreported. This reasoning is based in the safety culture of our people.

But there is reason for optimism at last! Network Rail's overdue campaign - "Safety 365" - is now being rolled out across the industry. The DVD "Hit or Miss" will raise some eyebrows with its down-to-earth language, but it is good. Older readers may recall a video titled "Deadly Serious About Safety" which shocked both track workers and their managers before privatisation.

The two are comparable, and that video helped reduce fatalities to zero for well over a year. I would have liked the scene where the new widow is told of her husband's death to have included his manager, to help bring home the message to frontline bosses. But it is a good start, and now we need a focused and continuing effort throughout the year, leaving me with less to write about!

Just one slightly edited (to protect the identity of the writer) response to my December article makes the point better than I can:
"Having worked on the railway for five years, I've had safety drummed into me no end of times. Being a road/rail driver, you have to be spot on with safety with all the workers around you. But over a period of 18 months, I've seen safety deteriorate with machine controllers not checking if your tickets are in date. I haven't shown mine for at least six months now. It seems to me there is a trend within major contractors of putting considerable pressure on their employees to break the rules, and when you stand your ground you are classed as being awkward.

"Tell me when will Network Rail and their contractors stand by the rules they make? When more trackmen are dead? I don't think so; it's all gone back to thinking about profits before their men. I seriously think there is going to be another group fatality like Tebay."

Get out, listen and learn

The views expressed by the writer reflect those of others who wrote to me last year, but his letter draws together many concerns. Network Rail's chief executive is on record as saying that getting the job done should never be a priority over safety, but the reality of a dark, cold, wet possession with hand back time fast approaching, leads those in charge on the night to push safety away.

The answer, I firmly believe, is an industry wide safety campaign aimed at all who qualify to work on our railway, led from the very top, with regular director and managing director level visits to work sites. Getting out, being seen and listening will dramatically improve safety and most probably productivity at the same time! From my own experience I know of the importance of unannounced visits to the sites where one is not expected. Once a pattern is established, every track worker is left wondering if it will be his site tonight.

That is precisely the thinking that needs to be generated. For those who go to sites, around 0200 hours is often best when the work is fully underway. I can guarantee that apart from doing a good job by merely being there, you will always learn something new as well!

The message will spread like wildfire!

The Railway Strategic Safety Plan for 2006 does refer to the need to "review behaviours amongst the workforce." Judging by my correspondence, training and safety behaviours are going wrong at front line management level and this is what needs to be tackled. Reliance on tick list completing safety auditors or other more qualified safety professionals may assist, but top management presence, and a conviction of the writers of letters similar to the one printed above - that safety first is the top priority, will only be earned and achieved when the chief visits the sites. The railway bush telegraph will then spread the message like wildfire!

Academic safety gobbledygook

I don't believe we need the (doubtless expensive) academic safety gobbledygook that one initiative in the plan suggests - "develop a new precursor indicator model for workforce safety and review the potential use of such models in other areas, such as passenger safety at stations." Well we all agree with that don't we?

But then I must admit to being cynical about another initiative from the RSSB. They have now established a team of four Decision Support Managers - one of whom it is claimed is "experienced in decision making theory" and "applying multi-criteria decision analysis... in a variety of business contexts."

Mustard on the beef sandwich?

Did the groups who worked over Christmas and New Year know that these people existed to help? As the reader who wrote to me said, "can I ring them up, and ask them as a manager working within the railway group whether or not I should put mustard on my beef sandwich? More seriously can I ring them up, when things go wrong and mitigate my wrong decision, which caused the accident by saying I relied on the RSSB support manager?"

I would question whether or not the industry needs them, and if we do, who should employ and pay for them. Can we afford them? Does their very existence not mean that some managers are not up to doing their jobs?

My heart felt thanks to those who write in and help keep me up to date with what is really going on. I enjoyed my Christmas and New Year. Having read through this article I began to accuse myself of turning into a grumpy old man.

But if that is what it takes to improve the safety of those who work on our railway infrastructure and thereby ensuring that you are all around to enjoy Christmas and New Year 2006/07, so be it.

Posted on 11:36 AM | Permalink

The Mirror: 20 January 2006
By Stephanie Busari

SAVER tickets on the railways are set to be scrapped under new government plans, it was claimed last night.

Fares for some journeys could more than treble if train firms are given the go-ahead to set their own prices.

Passengers who fail to book ahead will be forced to buy a standard open return ticket, even during off-peak hours. A standard open return ticket from London to Manchester costs £202, compared with the saver price of £57.10.

A price cap on saver tickets was fixed when the railways were privatised 10 years ago.

But train companies have now persuaded ministers they will need less subsidy and attract more passengers if they are allowed to control fares. Passenger groups have written to Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, urging him to keep the saver.

Brian Cooke, chairman of London Travelwatch said: "The saver provides discounted turn-up-andgo travel for people who are unable to commit in advance to travel on a particular train. We could end up with a railway open only to the rich."

Saver tickets are available on all longer distance routes but can only be used off-peak. More than 50 million trips were made on saver tickets last year.

Posted on 10:34 AM | Permalink

The Times: January 20, 2006

Leading article
No saver fares? No worries, no queues and no passengers.

You may notice the fine cut of the suit opposite. Or the elegant pearls gracing the lady in the corner. You detect strains of Mozart from your neighbour's headphones. And isn't that a chairman's statement being tapped into the laptop? Welcome to tomorrow's railway. An exclusive railway. No need for first class any more: hoi polloi no longer travel by train. If you look out of the window, you'll see them packed into motorway coaches. You may even glimpse a lonely anorak, looking wistfully at the trains he cannot now afford. How quiet it is without his prosaic chatter. What a blessing it was to cut out all those off-peak saver tickets!

The mandarins are delighted: a real free market, at last. Train companies can raise fares as high as they want. No problem paying back a billion a year to the Treasury by those who rashly bid too high for a franchise. No problem finding a seat. No need for more trains or new lines or billions extra to cope with millions of extra passengers. And no more long queues at ticket offices: "Return to Manchester, sir? Certainly. £202 please."

Siren voices have been cajoling the Department for Transport. Why should rail companies worry about off-peak travel? No hour is now off-peak in a 24/7 society - even the midnight trains are packed. All the rules and conditions of saver tickets confuse passengers. Time of departure? Time of return? Route? Train company? It would be far easier, the rail insiders argued, to remove the caps on savers and let the market set the fares. Look at the old days - steam trains, draughty booking offices and clunky cardboard tickets. Nostalgics pay a fortune for this on private lines: why not extend the network?

Posted on 01:59 AM | Permalink

The Times: January 20, 2006
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

RAIL fares will more than treble for some journeys under government plans to scrap saver tickets and give private operators greater freedom to set prices, The Times has learnt.

Passengers who are unable to book ahead will have to pay a substantial premium even if they travel during off-peak hours. Many will be forced to buy a standard open return ticket, which, in the case of the London to Manchester route, will cost £202, compared with the saver price of £57.10.

Train companies have persuaded ministers that they will require less subsidy and attract more passengers if they are given more control over fares.

The price cap on saver fares was one of the few guarantees given to passengers by the former Conservative Government when the railways were privatised a decade ago. Savers rose initially by inflation minus 1 per cent each year and are currently capped at inflation plus 1 per cent. In real terms, the price of savers has been frozen since 1995, while other fares have risen by up to four times the rate of inflation. Savers are available on all longer-distance routes but can only be used outside peak hours. Train companies have already reduced the number of services on which savers can by used by stretching their definition of the peak. Yet more than 50 million trips were still made on saver tickets last year.

The companies argue that they offer even cheaper tickets bookable up to 6pm the night before. But numbers for these are very restricted and passengers are forced to stick to specific trains for both outward and return journeys.

Passenger groups yesterday wrote to Alistair Darling, the Transport Secretary, urging him to keep the saver.

Brian Cooke, chairman of London Travelwatch, wrote: "The saver provides discounted turn-up-and-go travel for people who are unable to commit in advance to travel on a particular train. We do not accept that all such passengers are in a financial position to pay what can sometimes be a very high full fare."

Mr Cooke said the abolition of savers would force passengers on long-distance routes covered by more than one operator to buy two advance purchase tickets or face paying the full fare.

He said: "We are concerned that train companies will abuse their power to set prices if the saver is scrapped. We could end up with a railway open only to rich people."

The Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) admitted that there would be price increases if the saver were abolished but said that the extra flexibility would also allow operators to offer more discounted advance-purchase tickets. David Mapp, Atoc's commercial director, said that savers "could exacerbate overcrowding" because companies were unable to set higher prices to deter people from travelling on the busiest off-peak trains.

"Unlike season tickets, there is no economic justification for savers because they are being offered to customers who are using their income on a leisure journey rather than going to the theatre or buying CDs."

But Chris Irwin, chairman of the South West Passenger Forum, said that many people used savers for essential journeys. "It is sometimes necessary to make a journey at short notice, such as to attend a funeral. The train has to compete with the car, but the car leaves whenever you are ready. The demise of cheap walk-up fares would be a great loss."

* The official rail passenger watchdog is to drop the word "rail" from its title when it rebrands itself next week. The Rail Passengers Council is to be renamed Passenger Focus after image consultants said it would broaden the group's appeal.

Posted on 01:55 AM | Permalink

The Birmingham Post: Jan 19 2006
 
A train operator has been condemned for banning Midland passengers from using cheap fares during peak hours.

First Great Western has announced travellers can no longer use cheap day tickets and one-day travel cards at peak evening times, a decision described by Worcester MP Mike Foster as scandalous.

Mr Foster argues this hits passengers using the line to travel from the Midlands to London, who tend to take day trips using cheap fares.

However, it creates more space on trains for commuters living closer to London who are more likely to use season tickets, he said.

The MP has written to Alison Forster, managing director of First Great Western expressing his anger at the decision, and urged her to change the operator's policy.

He also raised the issue privately with Ministers at the Department of Transport.

First Great Western runs trains from Hereford through Worcestershire, stopping at Worcester, Pershore and Evesham, through Oxford, Reading and Slough and finishing at London Paddington.

Mr Foster said: "It will mean my constituents who visit London, having only a half day visit to catch the 16:18 train or having to wait until 19:18 and arrive back in Worcester at 9.30 at night."

A spokesman for the train company said: "We're bringing our services in line with other operators where discounted tickets are not permitted on peak hour services.

"This is because we are trying to encourage leisure travellers to use off-peak services as this helps to reduce overcrowding on the busiest trains."

Posted on 01:51 AM | Permalink

Daily Post: Jan 19 2006
By Rod Minchin

A NORTH Wales rail contractor charged with the manslaughter of four workers pointed the finger of blame at everyone but himself, a court was told yesterday.

Anglesey man Mark Connolly is accused of "butchering" the hydraulic brake system on two three-tonne flatbed trailers in a bid to save money.

Instead, he filled the tubes with ball bearings, disconnected the hydraulics and used wooden chocks to stop the wagon moving.

But laden with 16 tonnes of steel railway track it overran the chocks, travelling almost four miles down the track before running into the four workers.

Colin Buckley, 49, and Darren Burgess, 30, of Carnforth, Lancashire, Chris Waters, 53, of Morecambe, Lancashire, and Gary Tindall, 46, of Tebay, Cumbria, were all killed in the tragedy.

They were all working on a section of the West Coast Main Line at Tebay in February 2004 when the wagon crashed into them at around 40mph.

The jury at Newcastle Crown Court was told 44-year-old Connolly and coaccused Roy Kennett, 28 were "grossly negligent".

Connolly of Coedana, Llanerchymedd, and Kennett, of Hollingbourne, Maidstone, Kent, both deny four counts of manslaughter.

Connolly also denies three counts of breaching health and safety laws, and Kennett denies one count.

Robert Smith QC, prosecuting, accused Connolly of deliberately disconnecting the hydraulic brakes for "financial gain" while Kennett worked on knowing there was a fault.

The prosecutor said Connolly was required by law to have safety certificates for the two trailers but, having dismantled brakes, he knew his wagons were not legal.

Connolly was "at a loss" to explain how the accident happened, preferring to blame inexperienced site supervisor Danny Jones or co-accused Kennett for uncoupling the trailers from the crane incorrectly.

He told police when first quizzed: "In my opinion I am at a loss to understand what has gone wrong."

Mr Smith told the jury of six men and six women Connolly was pointing the finger at everyone but himself.

"When interviewed at a later stage of the inquiry he was to blame everybody but himself for the occurrence of this accident," he said..

"The prosecution will tell you that Danny Jones may have been inexperienced but how was he to know that these two men were prepared to put these two trailers without brakes on to the national rail network on a 1:75 gradient?"

The trial - expected to last up to eight weeks, continues today.

Posted on 01:47 AM | Permalink

Independent Online: 19 January 2006
By Barrie Clement, Transport Editor

The Government has demanded that the companies which lease trains to the rail network cut £100m from the revenues they earn from the industry.

All three "Roscos" - HSBC Rail, Porterbrook, owned by Abbey National, and Angel Trains, owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland - have been in talks with the Department for Transport to try to persuade ministers to drop the plan.

The Roscos have come under fire from train company executives for allegedly earning excessive profits.

It is understood ministers initially asked the companies to put forward their own plan for reducing leasing fees paid by train operators. It is thought that at least one suggested that they could take a reduced income provided commercial risks were shared by train operators and the Government.

Unimpressed with the offer, ministers have insisted on a 10 per cent cut in Roscos' turnover.

Chris Garnett, the chief executive of the intercity operator Great North Eastern Railways, has expressed "amazement" that as trains got older and less reliable, the sum the operators paid to use them remained fixed.

And in his book On the Wrong Line, the specialist writer Christian Wolmar points out that Stagecoach has to pay HSBC Rail £850,000 a year for six 70-year-old trains, each with two coaches for the Isle of Wight service. "It is no wonder that each passenger on the short 8.5-mile railway is subsidised by more than £3," wrote Mr Wolmar. He said privately Stagecoach regarded the charge as an "outrage" but there was no alternative supplier.

Unless there is an agreement, ministers could encourage the participation of other financial institutions in the train-leasing business.

All three Roscos refused to comment.

One industry source pointed out that the three organisations had invested some £7bn since they were set up and about £5bn since the network was fully privatised in 1998.

She said annual pre-tax profits were between £150m and £200m, which did not amount to a "big return" on the investment.

The source pointed out that Porterbrook had been up for sale for three years and there had been "no takers".

A substantial reduction in revenue from the industry would not encourage investment in new rolling stock, the source said.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Transport said the White Paper "The Future of Rail" indicated that the rolling stock markets had not developed in the way that was expected at privatisation. The document said there was a case for investigating whether risks were placed most effectively to secure "best value". She said the Government was committed to developing a longer-term strategy for rolling stock to help the industry plan more effectively.

Posted on 11:07 AM | Permalink

AFX News Limited: 01.19.2006

LONDON - Arriva PLC has confirmed that it is considering buying a fleet of new trains.

The company said in a statement that its trains division has issued invitations to tender to a number of train manufacturers 'to explore opportunities to improve its fleet', but declined to give further details.

AFX News reported yesterday that the Sunderland-based bus and rail operator, whose sole UK rail franchise is Arriva Trains Wales, is planning to order the new rolling stock.

AFX News understands that an order would be likely to involve about 50 new carriages worth about 1 million sterling each to replace unreliable Pacer trains used on Arriva Trains Wales' Valley Lines routes around Cardiff.

Manufacturers are due to submit their bids in March to build the rolling stock, which it is understood could enter service on routes in South Wales by the end of 2007.

Arriva said in its statement: 'Arriva Trains has issued invitations to tender to a number of manufacturers to explore opportunities to improve its fleet.

'It is no more than speculation at this stage to suggest that any acquisitions or leasing of new trains would take place, where any new fleet could be allocated on the company's network, or what units might be replaced in due course.

'Any decisions on purchasing or leasing new fleet would be made in partnership with the Welsh Assembly Government.

'Arriva Trains is impartial about potential suppliers and has not asked any one company in particular to explore cost options.'

Canadian rail and aerospace group Bombardier Inc, which has its main UK plant in Derby and is Britain's only remaining train manufacturer, confirmed yesterday that it is among the companies that have been invited to tender.

Bombardier's factory in the East Midlands, which employs 1,500 staff, is facing a 150 million sterling orders gap until it starts building new London Underground trains in 2008.

Posted on 10:57 AM | Permalink

Cumbria News & Star: 19 January 2006

JURORS in the Tebay manslaughter trial were today expected to visit the scene of the deaths.

They were due to leave Newcastle Crown Court to see for themselves where rail workers Colin Buckley, 49, and Darren Burgess, 30, of Carnforth, Lancashire, Chris Waters, 53, of Morecambe, Lancashire, and Gary Tindall, 46, of Tebay, were all killed in February 2004. They had been working on a section of the West Coast Main Line when the wagon, laden with 16 tonnes of steel track, crashed into them at about 40mph.

The trial yesterday heard that contractor Mark Connolly, 44, who allegedly caused the deaths of the men, did not carry out vital repairs to a wagon and tried to blame others for the accident.

He was accused of "butchering" the hydraulic brake system on two three-tonne flatbed trailers to save money.

Connolly, of Coedana, Llanerchymedd, Anglesey, North Wales, and Roy Kennett, 28, of Hollingbourne, Maidstone, Kent, both deny four counts of manslaughter. Connolly also denies three counts of breaching health and safety laws. Kennett denies one count.

Posted on 10:41 AM | Permalink

Reuters: Jan 18, 2006

BERLIN - German railway workers may stage strikes during the World Cup if the government moves to split up the state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn.

"We don't want to but if necessary we will strike during the World Cup," Klaus-Dieter Hommel, the head of one of two unions representing German railway workers, was quoted as saying in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on Wednesday.

Germany's transport minister said this week that the government would decide later this year what steps it would take to prepare Deutsche Bahn for a stock market listing.

He said one option would be to split Bahn into two firms, one operating tracks and the other operating trains.

Deutsche Bahn is planning to run extra services during the World Cup in June and July and is offering special 'Weltmeister' (world champion) tariffs.

The ticket prices, 54, 74 and 90 euros, are based on the years Germany won the World Cup.

Posted on 10:28 AM | Permalink

AFX News Limited: 01.18.2006

FRANKFURT - Deutsche Bahn AG and France's SNCF are in a dispute over the coordination of German and French high speed train routes, according to a report to appear in tomorrow's WirtschaftsWoche.

Deutsche Bahn head Hartmut Mehdorn has rejected a request from the French company to open TGV-high speed train routes to Munich on infrastructure maintained by Deutsche Bahn, saying there is insufficient capacity on the line.

This problem will only be overcome, Mehdorn said, if Deutsche Bahn's ICE-high speed trains can in return open routes from Brussels to Paris on SNCF lines.

Head of SNCF, Louis Gallois told the magazine that 'we have not reached an agreement with Deutsche Bahn on this issue'.

Posted on 07:53 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 18 January 2006

A co-ordinated Tube strike which could cause chaos for millions of commuters has been threatened by two unions.

There have already been two Tube strikes this month

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union has said it is to ballot 1,500 members, claiming industrial relations with London Underground (LU) have collapsed.

Aslef is balloting its members on issues ranging from health and safety to allegations of harassment.

An LU spokesman said the company was committed to resolving disputes through consultation and negotiation.

RMT leader Bob Crow said they were "ready to talk", but accused LU of trying to force through new policies.

'Out of patience'

"Once again Tube management have jumped the gun and are trying to impose policies without agreement," he said.

"Maybe they think there will be a management shake-up following the appointment of the new commissioner but they are running wild, trying to out-militant each other and our members have run out of patience."

Both ballots will close on 9 February and the RMT says any action would be co-ordinated.

"We are committed to a culture of fairness and trust between management, employees and trade unions" - London Underground

The LU spokesman said they wanted to resolve issue through discussions.

He said: "Given these negotiations have not even begun, we are surprised Aslef and the RMT appear to be ignoring the agreed machinery of negotiation and have moved to ballot.

"We are committed to a culture of fairness and trust between management, employees and trade unions, to honouring agreements and to building constructive employee relations."

The action is not linked to two recent strikes by station staff over new rotas. RMT members are being urged to accept a deal to resolve that dispute.

Former transport commissioner Bob Kiley stepped down this month and has been replaced by Peter Hendy, who had been responsible for London's buses.

Posted on 04:20 PM | Permalink

Reuters: Jan 18, 2006

LONDON - Two workers' unions threatened on Wednesday to stage a coordinated strike on the London Underground which could cause chaos for millions of commuters.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT) and Aslef said they would ballot their members over a strike following a "serious breakdown in industrial relations" with London Underground.

Both groups will announce the result on February 9.

A spokesman for Aslef said the unions were considering a series of 24-hour stoppages.

They accuse London Underground of ignoring agreements, imposing change without negotiation and inflicting excessive punishments.

"Once again Tube management have jumped the gun and are trying to impose policies without agreement," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said in a statement.

"No doubt we will once more be accused of disruption but ... the blame once again lies squarely with management trying to impose rather than negotiate," Crow said.

A spokesman for London Underground said there was no justification for the ballot and that they were surprised by the move.

"We are committed to working with all our trade unions to resolve the issues they are raising through consultation and negotiation," he said.

The RMT staged two 24-hour strikes on the tube earlier in January following a row over work rosters but only a few stations were actually closed. A coordinated strike between the two unions could shut the entire network.

Posted on 04:17 PM | Permalink

RMT: 18 January 2006

MORE THAN 1,500 RMT Tube drivers are to be balloted for strike action in a dispute over failure to resolve a range of issues including policy on signals passed at danger (Spads), health and safety, bargaining arrangements, harassment, discipline, denial of representation rights and imposition of excessive punishments.

"After strenuous attempts to stop LUL imposing new procedures and ignoring existing agreements, and after discussions with Keith Norman, the general secretary of our sister union Aslef, the RMT executive has agreed to ballot Tube train operators for strike action," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"There are laid-down procedures existing to deal with all the issues and we are ready to talk, but once again Tube management have jumped the gun and are trying to impose policies without agreement.

"Maybe they think there will be a management shake-up following the appointment of the new commissioner, but they are running wild, trying to out-militant each other and our members have run out of patience.

"The ballot will run on the same timetable as Aslef's, closing on February 9, and we will co-ordinate action with Aslef if management do not meanwhile withdraw imposed procedures and observe existing agreements.

"No doubt we will once more be accused of disruption but, as with the station-staff dispute, the blame once again lies squarely with management trying to impose rather than negotiate," Bob Crow said.

Posted on 04:02 PM | Permalink

The Mirror: 18 January 2006
By Patrick Mulchrone

Contractor to blame, court is told
A RAIL contractor caused the deaths of four men because he did not carry out vital repairs to a wagon, a court heard yesterday.

Mark Connolly, 44, tried to save money by not fixing the hydraulic brake system on the three-tonne flatbed trailer, it was alleged.

Instead he filled the tubes with ball bearings, disconnected the hydraulics and used wooden chocks to stop the wagon moving.

But laden with 16 tonnes of steel railway track, it overran the chocks, travelling almost four miles down the track before ploughing into the four workers.

Colin Buckley, 49, and Darren Burgess, 30, of Carnforth, Lancashire, Chris Waters, 53, of Morecambe, Lancashire and Gary Tindall, 46, of Tebay, Cumbria, were all killed.

They had been working on a section of the West Coast Main Line at Tebay in February 2004 when the wagon crashed into them doing around 40mph.

It hit them without warning and travelled another four miles before coming to rest at a viaduct.

Robert Smith QC told the jury that Connolly and co-accused Roy Kennett, 28, had been "grossly negligent".

Connolly, he said, had deliberately disconnected the hydraulic brakes for "financial gain", while Kennett had worked on knowing there was a fault.

The court heard Connolly was boss of MAC Machinery Services, subcontracted to work for rail maintenance giant Carillion, which was working with Network Rail to upgrade the rail network.

Connolly had driven a lowloader truck with a railway crane and two wagons to Scout Green in Cumbria to lift ageing track from the West Coast Main Line.

Shortly before 6am on February 15, 2004, Kennett, who worked for MAC Machinery, began lifting steel on to the wagons with the crane.

As he did so, Connolly slept in the back of his lorry.

Mr Smith said Connolly had deliberately disconnected the brakes on wagons because both hydraulic systems were in such a bad way they would not work properly with the crane.

He added: "Instead of repairing the trucks Connolly devised the simple but grossly irresponsible and dangerously expedient practice of dismantling these brakes."

He then filled the tubes on the wagons, normally full of hydraulic brake fluid, with ball bearings to give the impression everything was above board, the court heard.

"But his actions led to the chain of events in which four railway workers died when they were struck by a wagon laden with 16 tonnes of steel," Mr Smith added.

Kennett had placed wooden chocks under the wheels of the wagons but as he began unloading the second wagon it began to roll away.

He and supervisor Danny Jones frantically tried to stop it but to no avail.

Mr Smith added: "The noise from an on-site generator meant the track gang had no warning about their impending fate. Those at the scene were taken completely by surprise."

The families of the dead men, sitting in the public gallery, broke down in tears as the prosecutor said they suffered massive injuries, including loss of limbs, when hit by the runaway wagon.

Connolly, of Anglesey, North Wales, and Kennett, of Maidstone, Kent, both deny four charges of manslaughter.

Connolly also denies three counts of breaching health and safety laws, and Kennett denies one count.
The case at Newcastle crown court was adjourned until tomorrow.

p.mulchrone@mirror.co.uk

Posted on 07:22 AM | Permalink

Daily Telegraph: 18/01/2006
By Nigel Bunyan

Four railway workers were crushed to death by a runaway trailer because their employers had tampered with its braking system in order to keep it running, a court has heard.

The money-saving exercise meant that the trailer and the 18 tons of steel track it was carrying were virtually unstoppable once they had gathered speed.

The court heard yesterday how the three-ton wagon broke away from its coupling and rolled down the west coast main line in Cumbria in the early hours of February 15, 2004.

Four miles down the track, near Tebay, it reached a gang of 10 workers carrying out maintenance work. None of them heard the trailer coming because they were wearing helmets designed as protection against their loud machinery. Four were killed instantly.

Yesterday Mark Connolly, 44, the owner of Mac Machinery, which provides equipment for rail repairs, and Roy Kennett, 28, one of his employees, each denied four counts of manslaughter.

A jury at Newcastle Crown Court was told that an excess of pressure had caused the auto-locking brakes on two trailers to fail.

Connolly tried to rectify the problem by filling their hydraulic brake couplings with ball bearings, thus mimicking the presence of pressure in the pipe. He allegedly hoped this would deceive any inspectors who might come to look at the machinery.

Both trailers were then kept in position by a number of wooden blocks, some of which were splintered and riddled with nails.

Robert Smith, QC, told the court: "This was not a common accident. The braking system of the trailer had been deliberately dismantled by Mr Connolly.

"Roy Kennett knew this. These two men, therefore, took a deliberate decision to use this trailer and in doing so they deliberately exposed railway workers to serious risk."

Anyone inspecting the trailer would be under the false impression that it had been correctly maintained, he added. Connolly had dismantled the brakes for "financial gain'' because it was cheaper than repairing the trailers properly.

The court heard that a group of workers tried without success to stop the runaway trailer as it began moving down the 1:75 gradient at Scout Green.

It had been running for nearly eight minutes by the time it careered into its victims. "Those at the scene were taken completely by surprise,'' said Mr Smith.

After the fatal crash Connolly allegedly told Kennett's supervisor, Danny Jones, 'I am in the s*** for this'."

The track men who died were Chris Waters, 53, from Morecambe, Lancs; Colin Buckley, 49, and Darren Burgess, 30, from Carnforth; and Gary Tindall, 46, from Tebay.

In addition to the manslaughter charges Connolly, from Llanerchymedd, Anglesey, north Wales, denies three breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Kennett, from Hollingbourne, Maidstone, Kent, denies one.

The trial continues.

Posted on 07:18 AM | Permalink

The Scotsman: 18 Jan 2006
ROD MINCHIN

A RAIL contractor sabotaged the brakes on a three-tonne wagon to save money, a court heard yesterday.

With no working brakes, the wagon - laden with 16 tonnes of steel railway track - ran away down a slope and hit a group of maintenance workers, killing four.

The men were killed when the runaway wagon ran into them at about 40mph on a section of the west coast main line near Tebay, Cumbria, almost two years ago.

Mark Connolly and Roy Kennett are accused of four counts of manslaughter.

The four men who died were Colin Buckley, 49, of Carnforth, Lancashire; Darren Burgess, 30, also of Carnforth; Chris Waters, 53, of Morecambe, Lancashire; and Gary Tindall, 46, of Tebay.

The wagon, which weighed 19 tonnes, came out of the morning darkness and hit the gang of railway workers at about 40mph. The men died almost instantly, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

Their families, sitting in the public gallery, broke down in tears as the prosecutor said they suffered massive injuries, including loss of limbs.

Opening the case for the Crown, Robert Smith, QC, told the jury that both defendants were "grossly negligent" in their actions.

He said Connolly had deliberately disconnected the hydraulic brakes on two wagons, while Kennett had operated the wagons knowing they were faulty.

In the case of Connolly, he dismantled the brakes for "financial gain" because it was cheaper than repairing the wagons properly.

Connolly, 44, of Coedana, Llanerchymedd, Anglesey, North Wales, and Kennett, 28, of Hollingbourne, Maidstone, Kent, both deny four counts of manslaughter.

Connolly also denies three counts of breaching health and safety laws, and Kennett denies one.

Mr Justice Holland adjourned the trial until today.

Posted on 07:15 AM | Permalink

The Times: January 18, 2006
By Angela Jameson, Industrial Correspondent

THE identities of thousands of rail workers have been stolen by criminal gangs and used to steal millions of pounds from the Treasury, The Times has learnt.

One in seven staff at Network Rail has been caught up in the tax credit fraud that has plunged the tax system into chaos and could turn out to be Britain's biggest benefit scam.

Last month it emerged that 13,000 Jobcentre workers had had their identities stolen and there are fears that other leading companies have also been targeted by the gangs. Suspicions are mounting that HM Revenue and Customs insiders are involved in the fraud.

Network Rail was alerted to the problem by Revenue officials last week and a criminal investigation is now under way. John Armitt, chief executive of Network Rail, yesterday sent a letter to all 30,000 staff at the company to allay fears over the fraud and its potential impact on legitimate tax credit payments and credit ratings.

The letter, obtained by The Times, said: "Revenue and Customs has advised Network Rail that a significant number of our employees are among the many thousands who have been affected. The key point is that it is the Government that has been defrauded, not our employees."

By using the name, date of birth and NI number of Network Rail employees, gangs have been able to make fraudulent claims through the HMRC's website and divert funds into their own website.

Criminals were able to claim up to £100 per month per person, usually by changing the number of children and the employment status of the person whose identity they had stolen.

The website, used by 500,000 people a year, was closed on December 2 after ministers admitted that there had been fraud. Losses already identified exceed £15 million, but that figure is expected to get much higher.

HMRC was unable to give details of how farreaching the fraud could be. A spokeswoman said: "Like any other organisation that pays out money there will be some people intent on defrauding the system and we designed tax credits with that in mind."

The Times: January 18, 2006
By Sam Coates

Online benefit fraudsters leeching hundreds of millions from taxpayer

IT has become the ultimate tax black hole. The tax credit system, championed by Gordon Brown as a means of helping the poorest in society, has cost the taxpayer almost £46 billion.

But this centrepiece of new Labour has been beset by problems, including £2.2 billion in overpayment in 2003/4, some of which the Government has been attempting to claw back, plunging some pensioners into unexpected poverty.

Now it looks as if the tax credit system, which is expected to hand out £16 billion this year, could be responsible for one of the biggest frauds committed against the Government. Identity tricksters have been using fraudulent bank accounts to syphon off money. The size of this massive fraud is unclear, and the Government is at this stage unwilling to speculate, but weeks after the fraud was uncovered, the head of HM Revenue said that at this "early stage" they had lost £15 million. Some experts believe it could cost the taxpayer as much as £100 million.

Much of the fraud centres on a Government website that was designed to make the process of applying for tax credits - long considered complex and unwieldy - much easier.

However it now appears that this website became the target for at least 30,000 frauds. There are a number of prosecutions under way but the Government refuses to say how many of these have been completed and how many are left.

In an appearance before the Public Accounts Committee, David Varney, chair of HM Revenue and Customs, said that the prosecutions had thrown up £15 milion in tax credits. However he was unwilling to speculate on the final losses to the taxpayer, which could mount to hundreds of millions of pounds.

He told the committee that organised gangs had been targeting computer systems and he knew of 13,000 indentities which had been hijacked "in a particularly virulent way".

It is believed that fraudsters were making multiple applications for tax credits to be paid into false bank accounts as long as two years ago, according to the BBC. The false bank accounts were set up using the theft of payroll data from employees in Jobcentres, and, as The Times reveals today, Network Rail. This gave fraudsters access to home addresses, National Insurance numbers and other details useful in setting up false bank accounts.

Although money has never been taken directly from the people whose identities have been stolen, the creation of false bank accounts that are then used for fraud can affect the individuals' credit ratings.

The Government claims that the Revenue took into account the chances of fraud when it first set up the website.

"There are lots of attempts and probably from the first day that tax credits started it was a target for organised criminals. Our working assumption was that we would be the target of attack," Mr Varney said. A spokesman for Network Rail said: "HM Revenue & Customs informed us that they are investigating the fraudulent use of the personal details of a significant number of Network Rail employees for the purposes of claiming tax credits from the Government. Network Rail is supporting investigations."

George Osborne, Shadow Chancellor, called on the Government to conduct an urgent review of a policy that has been plagued with problems.

"Last year the Treasury assured us that they had "robust measures" in place to defend the integrity of the tax system. This new breach of the security systems will come as a huge embarrassment for Gordon Brown. Sadly, this is yet another example of a tax credit system in chaos and further proof that we need an urgent review of the Chancellor's pet policy."

Posted on 12:45 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 17 January 2006

Four rail workers were killed by a runaway wagon in Cumbria after its brakes had been deliberately sabotaged to save money, a court has heard. The trailer rolled four miles before hitting the workers.

The men were working on tracks in Tebay in February 2004 when the three-tonne wagon with 16 tonnes of steel hit them.

Mark Connolly, 44, from Anglesey, North Wales, and Roy Kennett, 28, from Maidstone, Kent, face four counts of manslaughter, which they deny.

The trial at Newcastle Crown Court is expected to last up to eight weeks.

Colin Buckley, 49, of Carnforth, Lancashire; Darren Burgess, 30, also of Carnforth; Chris Waters, 53, of Morecambe, Lancashire; and Gary Tindall, 46, of Tebay, all died while working on a section of the West Coast Main Line.

The runaway wagon crashed into them at about 40mph after rolling four miles.

No brakes

Sub-contractor Mr Connolly who owned the trailer, and Mr Kennett, who was working with it, appeared at court to answer the charges.

The court heard that Mr Connolly was the boss of MAC Machinery Services, and employed to replace and upgrade the rail network.

On the morning of 15 February, employee Mr Kennett was using a crane to lift ageing track from the line onto two wagons.

Robert Smith QC, prosecuting, told the jury Mr Connolly had deliberately disconnected the brakes on the wagons because the hydraulic systems were in such a bad way they would not work properly in conjunction with the crane.

Mr Smith said: "Instead of repairing the trucks and the crane, he devised the simple but grossly irresponsible and dangerously expedient practice of dismantling these brakes."

Mr Connolly then filled the cables connecting the wagons to the crane - usually full of hydraulic brake fluid - with ball bearings, giving the impression that everything was above board, the court heard.

Mr Connolly also denies three counts of breaching Health and Safety laws, and Mr Kennett denies one count.

Posted on 04:57 PM | Permalink

RMT: 17 January 2006

MORE THAN 4,000 RMT Tube station staff members are to vote on a new proposal aimed at settling the dispute over safe staffing levels at London Underground stations.

"After five days of negotiations we now have a proposal that the RMT executive has agreed unanimously to recommend to our members," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"The proposed agreement includes provision for the safety validation, involving RMT reps, of rosters for those station groups yet to be agreed.

"Any remaining disagreements over rosters will be referred back to a working party at general secretary level for resolution.

"The final decision rests, as always, with RMT members, who will vote in a referendum which will end on January 27.

"In the event of our members rejecting the proposal, industrial action will be stepped up, and the ballot of our other LUL members for action short of strike, arising from safety breaches on the two recent strike days, will therefore continue, with the result also due on January 27.

"After two days of united strike action by our members we have negotiated a deal that gives us the safety validation we sought from the beginning of the dispute, and a mechanism for dealing with outstanding disagreements.

"Following a detailed discussions the RMT executive therefore agreed unanimously to recommend it to our members.

"The 35-hour week deal, which we have never sought to re-negotiate, remains in place, with the benefits of 52 days' leave, enhanced opportunities for promotion and the retention of existing total staff numbers," Bob Crow said.

Posted on 04:38 PM | Permalink

Daily Telegraph: 17/01/2006
By David Millward, Transport correspondent

Government pledges to ease road congestion by cutting the proportion of goods carried by lorry have been undermined by figures showing that Whitehall has slashed grants used to shift freight on to rail.

Hailed by Labour as the most environmentally friendly method of transporting material, trains were expected to carry more material under policies outlined by ministers. But figures released in a Commons reply show that support for rail freight has halved in the past four years.

Subsidies reached £60.1million in 2001-2, Derek Twigg, the rail minister, told MPs. In 2004-5 the figure fell to £28.5million.

In 2000, the Government promised to increase the proportion of freight being carried by rail from 7pc to 10pc by 2010, representing an 80pc growth. The latest figure shows the target is unlikely to be met, with only a 5pc increase so far.

Environmentalists and the freight industry united in voicing their alarm at the trend.

"This is very worrying," said a spokesman for the Campaign to Protect Rural England. "We want to see more freight going on rail because it is more environmentally friendly and has much less of an impact on the countryside."

Transport 2000, another environmental pressure group, said that a train carrying aggregates - stone and chippings used in road building - is capable of doing the work of 120 juggernauts. "Ton for ton, goods carried on a train produce 90pc less CO2 emissions than when they are carried by road," said a spokesman.

Andrew Traill, the head of rail freight at the Freight Transport Association, said: "Many in the industry believe that this is being done because it is an easy target. This is something we have been complaining about.

''If the Government is serious about putting freight on to rail, they should be recognising the savings it makes elsewhere.

"They are not doing their sums properly taking into account how much they can save by cutting congestion and spending less on road repairs."

But a Department of Transport spokesman defended the Government's policy, which was to see goods moved in a "sustainable way".

"We will continue to provide financial support for rail freight where it is affordable and offers the greatest environmental, congestion and safety benefits when assessed alongside support for other modes."

The spokesman added that the rail freight market was enjoying significant growth, with a 55pc increase since 1995.

"Everyone agrees we need to get more freight on to rail," said Chris Grayling, the shadow transport secretary. "But the Government is cutting the grant necessary to do this. It is another example of a promise being broken."

Posted on 09:43 AM | Permalink

Financial Times: January 17 2006
By George Parker and Raphael Minder in Brussels and Chris Smyth,in Antwerp

The European parliament looks set to reject a plan to open ports to more competition on Wednesday after socialists, liberals and some conservatives jointly opposed the bill put forward by the European Commission.

The fate of the port services bill was in effect decided on Monday in private political meetings in Strasbourg, while thousands of dockworkers clashed with police in violent scenes outside the European Union parliament building.

Several of Europe's biggest ports were severely disrupted by strike action, with dockers claiming the proposed liberalisation would cost thousands of jobs and endanger safety. Antwerp, the EU's second-biggest port, saw no loading or unloading.

On Monday night, the dockworkers appeared to gain the upper hand as the parliament prepared to reject laws to increase port competition for the second time in three years.

A spokesman for Jacques Barrot, the EU transport commissioner who sponsored the bill, admitted: "We expect it to be voted out."

The bill aimed to end monopolies on cargo handling and piloting services, many of which are state-owned.

Many port operators opposed the bill. Stephan van Fraechem, of the Antwerp commercial operators federation, said ports were already locked in fierce competition with each other.

But importers and exporters will be disappointed at the loss, claiming it will cost them millions of euros in allegedly inflated charges for handling their goods.

Throughout normally quiet Strasbourg, dockers fought running battles with police, who fired teargas and used water cannon to contain the protests. Windows in the parliament were smashed by protesters throwing rocks.

Inside, socialists - the second-largest EU parliamentary bloc - confirmed their opposition to Mr Barrot's proposals.

Robert Evans, a British Labour MEP, called the bill "chaotic".

Liberals, the third largest bloc, said they supported port reform, but the proposal was too complex.

Posted on 09:26 AM | Permalink

EUPolitix.com: Tue, 17 Jan 2006
Bruno Waterfield

Centre-right Members of the European Parliament are split on the controversial port services directive heralding defeat for flagship liberalisation legislation from the European commission.

The centre-right EPP-ED political group met on Monday night ahead of a Tuesday debate in the European parliament that could sink a shake-up of Europe?s docks.

Conservative MEPs - the natural allies of the commission's liberalisation programme - will be unable to show a "united front", said EPP sources on Tuesday.

"The EPP is divided over this vote and will not be able to show a united front either in adoption or rejection of this legislation," said a source.

Monday's meeting of centre-right MEPs was itself disrupted as protesting dock workers clashed with the police outside the Strasbourg venue of the parliament.

During the Tuedsay debate, MEPs from across the parliament's political groups lined up to attack the commission's proposals.

Deputies attacked the directive, with MEPs highlighting trade union opposition, singling out negative impacts on safety and increased redt tape.

Socialist and left-wing MEPs warned the commission that the EU services directive could be treated in a similar manner by the parliament later this year.

European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot is pessimistic over legislation he inherited from Romano Prodi's outgoing EU executive.

MEPs are re-examining a revised port services directive after rejecting an original commission proposal in November 2003.

The parliament sank that legislation amid concerns the shake up would compromise safety and open up Europe's ports to unqualified labour.

The directive is strongly opposed by trade unions but some port authorities are also concerned - especially "self handling", cargo loading carried by ship's crews rather than dock workers.

A new defeat is looming after the parliament's transport committee failed to find a compromise agreement on proposals re-floated in October 2004.

Three of the parliament's major political groups, the Socialists, Liberals and Greens, would prefer to return the directive back to the transport committee, rather than agree to the commission's untouched package.

The negative response from MEPs will be a setback for the commission's liberal economic agenda ahead of a parliament vote on the even more controversial services directive in February.

Posted on 08:37 AM | Permalink

The New York Times: Jan 16, 2006
By JAN SLIVA Associated Press Writer

STRASBOURG - Dock workers fought with police and smashed windows at the European Parliament building Monday during a violent protest over a proposal to liberalize port services across the European Union.
See the BBC report in pictures of the Dockers' protest here.

Dock Workers Attack EU Parliament Building in Strasbourg, France, Over Proposed Changes at Ports
Protestors throw bottles at police as thousands of demonstrators hurled rocks, logs and metal fences at the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France, Monday, Jan. 16 2006, smashing windows as they protested plans to liberalize port services across the European Union.

Labor action and strikes, meanwhile, slowed or halted cargo handling at several EU ports. In scenes of mayhem, police fought pitched battles with groups of protesters, charging at the demonstrators and using water cannons and tear gas to try to keep them away from the EU legislature.

Strikes and work slowdowns also disrupted cargo handling at several ports as trade unions pressed their opposition to the plan even as EU legislators predicted it would be rejected.

Police used water cannons and tear gas to try to keep thousands of protesting dockers away from the EU legislature in this eastern French city. But the mob surged forward, hurling rocks, logs and metal fences to shatter large sections of glass in the glass-and-steel building, located on the outskirts of this eastern French city. The damage was estimated at several hundred thousand euros (dollars), the parliament said.

Earlier, police fired pepper gas into crowds of demonstrators after port workers hurled flares, canisters, glasses and stones at the security services during a violent march through the city center. One policeman was hospitalized with a head wound, and 11 officers suffered light injuries, according to the parliament's press service.

Workers in yellow vests accompanied by marching bands set off smoke bombs and waved banners saying "Victory to the dockers." Some cars were set alight, and smoke mingled with the smell of pepper spray hung heavy in some parts of the town. The protesters moored a boat on the river outside the parliament.

At least 6,000 workers from all major European ports, including Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg and Marseille, and from as far away as Australia and the United States, participated in the demonstration organized by several trade unions.

At the same time, workers closed down cargo handling in Antwerp, Belgium Europe's second biggest port and strikes affected harbor work in Portugal, Germany and Denmark. Dockers in Sweden and in Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, held short work stoppages.

The European Parliament looks set to reject new plans to liberalize cargo handling at EU seaports on Wednesday, two years after voting down the previous draft legislation on port services.

Posted on 12:23 AM | Permalink

RMT: 16 January 2006

THE MUSHROOMING cost of Virgin Cross Country's flat refusal to negotiate a settlement to the dispute over the erosion of Sunday pay rates for guards will be paid for by the public, Britain's biggest rail union says today.

In the last three years the government has paid out around £23 million in compensation to train-operating companies that lose revenue during industrial disputes, and the government has indicated that it intends to continue indemnifying employers with public money.

"Virgin Cross Country is cynically throwing huge sums of money at keeping services running on Sundays because they know that the public will eventually foot the bill," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"The cost of settling our claim works out at less than £6 per shift, yet they are paying managers an extra £100 each to cover our members' jobs on strike days.

"They were so desperate last Sunday they shelled out for a cab fare to bring a manager more than 200 miles from Plymouth to Birmingham to take charge of a train.

"Anyone in their right mind will wonder why a company is prepared to spend several times more on a dispute than it would cost to settle it.

"But Virgin XC know that the public - including people who never use their trains - will be given the bill, and maybe that is why the Virgin board saw fit to overrule its own management and veto the settlement we thought we had reached last summer.

"We are ready for talks at any time, but Virgin XC are demonstrating a contempt for our members, for the travelling public, and even for the managers they are expecting to do our members' jobs on top of their own full working week," Bob Crow said.

ends

Notes to editors: More than 300 RMT members, who voted by a margin of more than two to one to strike, have refused to work on Sundays since January 1 after the company turned its back on an offer by the union to talk about the erosion of Sunday pay premiums.

The following is a parliamentary question asked by John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington and chair of the RMT parliamentary group, in March 2005

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was paid, and on which dates, through the Strategic Rail Authority to train operating companies in respect of compensation for loss of revenue during industrial disputes in each of the last three years. [221003]

Mr. McNulty: The arrangements under which the Strategic Rail Authority is able, at its discretion, to compensate train operators for loss of revenue in these circumstances have existed only since March 2003. Since then, payments have been made in March 2003 (£12.65 million); June 2003 (£3 million); January 2004 (£6.8 million); July 2004 (£143,000); and November 2004 (£701,000).

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds he has set aside to compensate train operating companies in the event of industrial disputes on the railways in the 2004?05 financial year. [221004]

Mr. McNulty: None. Payments of this sort are made entirely at the discretion of the Strategic Rail Authority and there may well be years in which none is made. No specific provision is therefore made and any payment would have to be funded from within the SRA's existing budgets.

Posted on 04:19 PM | Permalink

AFX News Limited: 01.16.2006

LONDON - Transport operator FirstGroup PLC says it may need to invest extra cash in a new rail franchise it has just won.

Aberdeen-based First said in a reply to a customer letter seen by AFX News that the new FirstCapitalConnect (FCC) franchise may merit 'much more' investment than the 52 million sterling it has committed to spend.

It said it had to bid against 'very specific criteria' in its efforts to win the nine-year contract, which commits it to making 808 million sterling of premium payments to the government.

A passenger watchdog said it is disappointed there is no contractual commitment to tackle overcrowding on some routes covered by the deal, which include Bedford to Brighton and Cambridge, Peterborough and Hertford to London.

First has said it will try to solve the problem by improving timetables and refitting some trains with more seats. However, it said it would make further investment in FCC if there is a good business case.

It added that it considers the contract to be a holding arrangement while the long-delayed Thameslink 2000 infrastructure upgrade is carried out.

Describing the 52 million sterling as 'substantial', the letter added: 'We appreciate it could be much more. However, this is very much an interim franchise whilst the Thameslink programme is undertaken.

'Throughout the franchise, we will continually look at business cases for investment and where there is a good case, we will make further investment.'

A FirstGroup spokeswoman said: 'Our record of investment across all our rail franchises is very impressive.' A spokeswoman for the DfT said the government would spend the premium payments it received on the railways.

First won the contract in December after a bidding competition involving National Express Group PLC and other UK transport companies. It starts on Apr 1 and combines routes formerly known as Thameslink and Great Northern.

Posted on 03:19 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 16 January, 2006

Two men have appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of four rail workers killed by a runaway trailer at Tebay in Cumbria.

Mark Connolly, 43, from Anglesey, North Wales, and Roy Kennett, 27, from Maidstone, Kent, appeared at Carlisle Crown Court on Tuesday.

The men were working on tracks when a flatbed trailer rolled four miles and collided with them in February 2004.

A provisional trial date was set for January 2006.

Colin Buckley, 49, of Carnforth, Lancashire; Darren Burgess, 30, also of Carnforth; Chris Waters, 53, of Morecambe, Lancashire; and Gary Tindall, 46, of Tebay, all died in the incident.

They were working on a section of the West Coast Main Line track at the time of the incident.

Posted on 02:12 PM | Permalink

New Kerala: 16 Jan 2006

Working on tracks killed 1070 Rail employees in past 4 years
New Delhi: Accidents while working on the tracks claimed the lives of at least 1070 Railway employees in the past four years. Another 771 were injured.

Central-eastern Railways was the most unsafe among all 16 railway zones while the South-eastern Railway was the least.

Railways provided Rs 26 crore as compensation to the victims and their families, show recent statistics published by the Ministry.

As many as 151 employees died in the Central-eastern railway while in Northern Railway the death toll was 113 with 135 injured.

In the Hajipur zone of Central-eastern railway, 49 people died in 2002-03, 37 in 2003-04, 41 in 2004-05 and 24 in 2005-06 while working on the tracks.

The Northern Railway Headquarter in New Delhi lost 25 employees in 2002-03, 36 in 2003-04, 30 in 2004-05 and 22 upto November of the last year. The number of injured employees in these four years reached 135 in this zone alone.

In Hubli, Karnataka, the headquarters of the South-eastern railway, eight employees died while two were injured in the period.

Two died in the year 2002-03, two in 2003-04, two in 2004-05 and two more till November last year. The number of injured remained one in 2002-03 and another one in 2003-04.

Jaipur under the North-eastern railway came a close second to its South-easteRn counter part in matter of accidents. The death toll here remained 11 in past four years while four suffered injuries.

As many as 105 employees died and 67 were injured in Mumbai, Central railway, 59 died in Kolkata, Eastern railway, 55 died and one was injured in Bhubaneshwar, Eastern-coastal railway and 94 died and 117 were injured in Allahabad, North-central railway.

In Gorakhpur, North-eastern railway, 18 employees died and 11 were injured during this period. Guwahati, North-eastern border railway lost 45 employees without anyone getting injured.

Apart from these zones 60 died and one was injured in Chennai, Southern railway, 93 died and 13 were injured in Southern-central railway. The numbers were 34 and 13 respectively in Kolkata, South-eastern railway, 40 and one in Bilaspur, South-east-central railway, 71 and 23 in Jabalpur, Central-western railway while they were 60 and 386 in Mumbai, Western railway.

Posted on 01:59 PM | Permalink

AFX News Limited: 01.15.2006

FRANKFURT - Germany's federal court of auditors has recommended that the government split up state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG, Financial Times Deutschland said in a report to be published tomorrow, citing a copy of a court opinion it obtained.

German media reported recently that the government may split Deutsche Bahn's railway network from the rest of the company to privatise it separately.

The court said in the long run the company may not have 'prerequisites' for the company as a whole to perform in the capital markets, and there could be considerable risks, especially in the logistics division.

And if the government waits too long to launch an initial public offering of the company, which is currently seen in 2007, it may put the logistics division at a disadvantage to its competitors due to a lack of investments.

'But the federal court of auditors has not been responsible for Deutsche Bahn since 1994,' a spokesman for the company told the newspaper. 'Strategy is the management board's responsibility'.

He also emphasised that there are synergies between the company's railway business and logistics unit Schenker.

'Selling logistics would be nonsense and a complete reversal of our previous strategy,' he said.

German media last month said an IPO of Deutsche Bahn could raise 4-14 billion euros for the German government.

Posted on 07:27 AM | Permalink

The Guardian: January 16, 2006
Mark Milner

Network Rail's belief that the busy east coast mainline cannot cope with extra traffic without infrastructure improvements has been challenged by advisers to one of the train operators seeking to run more services.

Vossloh Information Technologies argues that limits on the number of trains which can use the line are commercial rather than related to the infrastructure. Its report argues that it should be possible to meet at least some of the requests from Grand Central - to which it is an adviser - and GNER for new slots while still leaving spare capacity for freight traffic.

GNER wants to increase the number of services it runs between London's King's Cross station and Leeds, while Grand Central is seeking to use the line for services between Bradford, Sunderland and London.

Last month, in response to a request from the Office of Rail Regulation for an assessment, Network Rail concluded that demand for extra traffic could not be met: "The line is already one of the busiest on the railway network and enhancements to the infrastructure will be required to provide additional services. There is currently insufficient capacity on parts of the line to satisfy all the stated requirements of both GNER and Grand Central."

The Vossloh report, commissioned by Grand Central, criticises some of Network Rail's analysis and findings, and concludes: "There is spare capacity on the ECML, at least off peak." It says King's Cross is operating well below capacity.

The regulator is expected to give its ruling by the end of this month on allocating capacity between operators. A Network Rail spokesman said the Vossloh report was part of a consultation exercise.

"The purpose is to get the views of others. We are in the process of evaluating those comments and will take them on board." He added: "We do not agree that King's Cross is nowhere near its physical capacity."

Posted on 06:53 AM | Permalink

There is a picket line at Bristol Temple Meads Station on the last Sunday of each month for the duration of the current industrial dispute between RMT members employed as Train Managers by Virgin Cross Country Trains, from 10.00-12.00, at the bottom of the incline leading to the main station entrance. Please come and show solidarity and support to Virgin Cross-Country guards by visiting the picket line.

"Rallying to Win"

RMT has organised a rolling programme of open meetings for VXC Train Manager members. Report and pictures of the 19 February meeting in Bristol available here

The dispute involves Virgin Cross Country's refusal to honour an agreement over the introduction of the 35-hour week with no loss of pay. Virgin have tried to slash the Sunday rate by 6% and make Sundays a compulsory part of the working week, and have refused to re-enter negotiations on this issue, leaving RMT members with no option but to refuse to work on Sundays.

The strike action has decimated Virgin Cross Country Sunday train services, with the company utilising inadequately-trained managers to act as Guards on their trains on strike days and being forced to introduce a flat-rate £20 walk-on fare for all journeys. Despite advertising an "amended timetable" on strike days consisting of less than 40% of normal timetabled services, Virgin Cross Country Trains have been unable to deliver even this pathetic level with widespread cancellations and trains terminating short of advertised destinations.

In the last three years the government has paid out around £23 million in compensation to train-operating companies that lose revenue during industrial disputes, and the government has indicated that it intends to continue indemnifying employers with public money.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow described Virgin Cross Country as "cynically throwing huge sums of money at keeping services running on Sundays because they know that the public will eventually foot the bill.?

?The cost of settling our claim works out at less than £6 per shift, yet they are paying managers an extra £100 each to cover our members? jobs on strike days.

?They were so desperate last Sunday they shelled out for a cab fare to bring a manager more than 200 miles from Plymouth to Birmingham to take charge of a train.

?Anyone in their right mind will wonder why a company is prepared to spend several times more on a dispute than it would cost to settle it.

?But Virgin XC know that the public ? including people who never use their trains ? will be given the bill, and maybe that is why the Virgin board saw fit to overrule its own management and veto the settlement we thought we had reached last summer.

"RMT is ready for talks at any time, but Virgin XC are demonstrating a contempt for our members, for the travelling public, and even for the managers they are expecting to do our members? jobs on top of their own full working week,? Bob Crow said.

Dispute Update - Virgin XC Train Managers, Rates of Pay for Sunday Working

RMT Circular No: IR/035/06
9th February 2006

Dear Colleagues,

I again wish to applaud our VCX Train Manager members for the solid support for the ongoing Sunday strikes. I make this point, because I am fully aware of the disgraceful management propaganda that is being put around the job and through staff?s letterboxes.

This is only to be expected in a dispute situation. The information going out in the name of their Managing Director, Chris Gibb, is designed to demoralise and members must not let that happen. There is nothing new or clever in what Gibb has to say. It?s just plain nasty. I normally wouldn?t rise to such bullying tactics, but I believe some of the things he?s coming out with need to be challenged.

In his personal letter to all staff of 6th February 2006, Gibb has the cheek to quote from Virgin?s Equal Opportunities Policy accusing striking Guards of harassment and intimidation and all but brands them as criminals. Everyone, he says, has a right to work with "respect and dignity". He doesn?t apply these same comments to the managers he is using to work our members trains on Sundays and who, I understand, take great delight in telling Train Managers how much they are enjoying the extra money they are earning for Sunday working.

Virgin are paying these strike breakers £100 plus commission on a Sunday regardless of turn length. He says he can afford to do this as he is paying fewer Train Managers. I am making a note of this for the purposes of future negotiations. A £100 pound payment for a six hour minimum Sunday turn would be a good starting point and seems to be one that Virgin Cross Country can afford.

Whilst admitting they would prefer the services of their "experienced and committed Train Managers" Gibb tells us that the managers are "doing well" give or take the odd safety breach. The only problem is they appear to have a big problem with road knowledge and I am informed that a number of Drivers are being forced to act as conductors. Obviously, our ASLEF colleagues are not happy with this situation and the Drivers? Company Council have reported the situation to their Headquarters with a view to getting this stopped.

The lengths to which management are going to undermine the strike are extraordinary and I would seriously question the mentality behind them. Chris Gibb doesn?t deny the fact that huge sums, in excess of what it would cost to settle this dispute, are instead being spent to prolong it. In his latest rant about the strike in Virgin Trains News, he comes clean and states:

"How come we ended up with strikes over such a small amount of money? It was not just about money it was also about principle. We cannot go on paying a "little extra" every time the company is threatened with strikes."

I am at a loss to understand what the "principle" is that he?s talking about and can only conclude that it?s about showing who?s boss.

RMT has throughout sought a negotiated solution to the problem of Sunday payments. The fact is that Train Managers are being treated less favourably than other members of staff. When the Drivers restructured all enhancements went in exchange for an improved basic pay rate. Over time, ASLEF merely had to ask for the enhancements back and got them. When we ask for things we are told "NO!" That?s why we have to threaten strikes and carry this threat through when needs must.

Gibb paints the fact that the company refuses to negotiate with RMT as some kind of virtue. All we can say in reply is that we remain willing and able to talk anytime anywhere and we have repeatedly made Virgin Cross Country aware of this.

Incidentally, Gibb tried to confuse our members on the matter of the TOC refranchising situation. Despite our position being that at this time there will not be an aggregated ballot on the five demands across the twelve Train Operating Companies being refranchised, Gibb stated that he expected RMT to issue ballot papers in the next few weeks as if he were an elected official of the Union. This is not the case. RMT will be seeking assurances on jobs and conditions in the event of a TUPE situation arising just as we have successfully done on hundreds of occasions.

Clearly we are up against some pretty mean customers. But as I said at the start we musn?t allow our members to become demoralised. Management actually put it to our members that they "should think very carefully about whether your first loyalty should be to your Union or to your livelihood". I say you can?t have one without the other. Virgin Trains have proved that their profits are more important than their staff or the taxpayers they fleece.

In closing, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that a series of dispute meetings have been arranged across the country especially for the VXC Train Managers dispute. Please do all you can to ensure maximum attendance. Full details are given overleaf.

Yours sincerely

Bob Crow
GENERAL SECRETARY

Posted on 03:05 PM | Permalink

Western Mail: Jan 14 2006
Llew Smith, former MP for Blaenau Gwent

JOHN PRESCOTT recently declared to the world - or at least to readers of one newspaper - that the politics of "class is coming back" and that Labour was "always better against class ... I always feel better fighting class".

I share that sentiment, while still recognising for socialists, class politics have never been off the agenda. Who can deny this, as we witness the failure, indeed the refusal of New Labour (Prescott included) to tackle one of the products of that class system - inequalities of wealth and income. It's as wide now as it was under the Tories.

Tony Blair was once asked by Jeremy Paxman whether "an individual can earn too much money?" He replied, "I don't, really..." This sentiment has also been expressed by his one-time mouth piece, Peter Mandelson, who unashamedly admitted that, "we are intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich."

Paxman also asked Blair, on approximately eight occasions, the linked question of whether it is acceptable for the gap between the rich and the poor to widen. He continually refused to answer the question that generations of socialists had taken for granted - that an integral part of our philosophy, was a commitment to the redistribution of wealth and income. What could be fairer?

It is difficult to argue against that, when it is predicted that in bonuses alone, Michael Spencer of Intercapital and Crispin Odey of Odey Asset Management are expected to receive £5m and £8.8m respectively. Meanwhile, Philip Green of Arcadia, and his family, have just received a dividend of £1.1bn, but still he sees nothing wrong in telling his workers they will have to take a pension cut, work longer or pay more into the fund. Yet these and many more examples are all acceptable in Blair's Britain. Meanwhile, millions of our working population have to exist on the minimum wage of £5.05 per hour.

Quite ironically, the Tory spokesperson Oliver Letwin has recently accepted that it should be an aim to narrow the gap between rich and poor, that we should redistribute money. He added, "Now before anyone poses the question, I don't believe the Tories would carry out that commitment, but neither will New Labour." I have to remind Mr Prescott that if he is serious about fighting the class war then the massive disparities of wealth must be eradicated and only then will New Labour relinquish the role as a party of "big business".

They could take one very small step down this road, by increasing the higher tax rate to 50% for those earning in excess of £100,000 per year. This would raise an additional £4.8bn a year.

This could be followed by another moderate step, of reducing our defence spending to the average of other Western European Nato countries, saving us a total of £7.3bn a year. Of course, we know they won't carry out those cuts, especially as seems likely from the utterances of a defence spokesman, that the Government is to embark on a new generation of even deadlier nuclear weapons.

Yet, if one can assume that they carried out those tax increases on the "filthy rich", together with the defence cuts, then the Government would have an additional £12.1bn each year to spend on our public services and meeting the needs of the poorest in our society.

If New Labour are unwilling to conduct their "class" politics through a more progressive tax system, then perhaps they could consider beginning to achieve this end by bringing back into public ownership those industries that were privatised under the Tories. I am sure that the cry from New Labour and that born-again class warrior, John Prescott, would be that we could not afford to buy them back into public ownership.

Why not? To quote one example, if they decided to bring the railways back into public ownership, the price should take into account the £16.219bn (real terms in 2003-04 prices) the private owners have received in subsidies since 1996-97. Additionally, of the £30.739bn investment since privatisation, a massive amount of this also came from the public purse. One then also needs to take into account the scandalously low price at which the industry was privatised, compared to the market value at that time.

The difference between its present market value and all the public benefits which the private rail companies have received would be the amount they would be compensated today if the industry is brought back into public ownership.

They would still remind us, that the railways were privatised by the Tories. Yet Blair, in Opposition promised that "there will be a publicly owned and publicly accountable railway system under a Labour Government." Not only has he failed to meet this promise, but New Labour has part privatised the London Underground, providing the private profiteers with another £2m weekly windfall. The fact is, New Labour no longer believes in public ownership and services.

Yet I suspect, with all of Prescott's evocative language, the extent of his class politics is directing a few jibes at David Cameron because of his privileged background and in particular, his education at Eton.

There are problems for both New Labour and Prescott if they concentrate on this line of attack, because Blair is also a product of a very privileged private school education.

Prescott could, of course, prove me wrong by announcing that his opposition isn't just to Cameron, but to private schools and that he is willing to apply his class politics, to a class issue - to meet the old socialist demand of the abolition of the privileged system of private education.

This would, to say the least, surprise me, because Prescott is just as much New Labour as Blair and Gordon Brown, and in their years in office they have not even had the courage to withdraw the charitable status, and the tax benefits which follow, from these private schools.

Sadly, none of this will happen, because when creating New Labour, this involved not just a change of name, but also a new party, dumping all our traditions and values which attracted so many generations to our banner.

Llew Smith is the former MP for Blaenau Gwent

Posted on 11:55 AM | Permalink

The Sunday Times: January 15, 2006
Dipesh Gadher, Transport Correspondent

THE government's chief transport adviser, Sir Rod Eddington, favours plans for a new high-speed rail link that could see jet-propelled trains ferrying passengers between Scotland and London in record times.

The new trains would eschew conventional power sources and would instead be fired-up by a jet engine similar to those used in aircraft.

A prototype, capable of travelling at 150mph, has been built in north America but manufacturers believe that, in the right conditions, it could achieve a much higher top speed.

The jet train plan - which some industry experts have dubbed "Eddington's Rocket" - would cut journey times between London and cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Virgin Pendolinos, operating at 125mph, are currently the fastest trains running up and down the country.

Eddington, the former boss of British Airways, is considering a new north-south high-speed link as part of a long-term review of Britain's transport needs.

Tasked with looking beyond 2015, he will present his findings directly to Gordon Brown, the chancellor, and Alistair Darling, the transport secretary, this summer.

Eddington has previously claimed that fast trains would be preferable to many domestic flights. "Everyone should be taking the train," he said.

"People would not need to fly across Britain if the rail service was faster."

With passenger journeys forecast to rise by 28% in the next decade, Darling is keen to free up capacity on existing tracks. The east coast main line from Edinburgh to London, for example, is already struggling to accommodate extra services.

Eddington believes a new high-speed link may provide a solution to this congestion and has discussed its feasibility with John Armitt, chief executive of Network Rail.

He has also consulted officials at Bombardier, the Canadian maker of the jet train, and at Ultraspeed, a company that is proposing a magnetic levitation - or maglev - system for Britain. Ultraspeed claims its train could reach speeds of 311mph.

A team of experts at Network Rail are now weighing up the merits of the competing technologies, as well as conventional high-speed trains such as the TGV in France, which travels at speeds of up to 186mph.

An earlier report on high-speed rail envisaged a £33 billion line from Edinburgh to London with a branch from the West Midlands to Manchester.

One of the biggest expenses associated with conventional high-speed rail systems is the need to electrify the entire line.

The main advantage of the jet train is its autonomous power source - a 3,750kW gas turbine - which is much lighter than a diesel engine.

However, this would only achieve maximum efficiency over longer distances. The turbine is also noisy and relies on expensive aviation fuel.

Plans for a driverless maglev system - presented to Tony Blair in 2004 - involve carriages floating on electromagnetic "cushions" above a fixed guideway.

Ultraspeed is proposing a £29 billion network that would join London to cities in the north of England and Scotland.

Critics, however, claim maglev systems draw vast quantities of power and question the durability of the technology.

The only commercial use of maglev is a 19-mile stretch linking Pudong airport to the outskirts of Shanghai in China. Government officials are believed to have reservations about a technology that has not been tested on longer routes.

But Adrian Lyons, director-general of the Railway Forum, an industry group, who has been consulted by Eddington, has no doubts about the benefits of a high-speed line.

"We have seen in Europe that when you put a high-speed line in and shrink the distance between a capital and an outlying city . . . there are significant changes in the economic fortunes of the region," he said

Posted on 10:16 AM | Permalink

The New Zealand Herald: 14.01.06
 
Fatigue among railway controllers has been cited in three potential train accidents, including a near-head-on.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission says in reports released yesterday that work hours for train controllers were excessive.

In potentially the most serious incident, at Otane southwest of Hastings on January 18 last year, a head-on crash was averted only because the driver of an oncoming train noticed another train had been told it could go on the same track as his, the commission found.

A controller with 24 years' experience had told a freight train it could cross the railway line on to another section of rail.

At the time, the controller was about 10 hours into a 12-hour shift, because of a staff shortage.

And in the four weeks before the crash, he had been called in to work on four of his seven rostered days off to cover shifts.

In another incident the same day, further south at Woodville, the commission found a different train controller was probably suffering from fatigue when he told a train it could "berth" on the main line at Makotuku, when another train had already been allocated the same place.

The report said the controller's fatigue was probably "a result of the excessive number of late and night shifts he had worked in the six weeks leading up to the incidents".

In a third incident, at Kokiri on the West Coast on February 3, the commission found that a train controller's fatigue after being called in to do extra shifts had probably caused him to allow a train into an area where contractors were working on the tracks.

But Maritime and Rail Transport Union general secretary Wayne Butson said he was satisfied Government track owner Ontrack was working to rectify controller rosters and limit fatigue.

"The main problem at the moment is there is a quite acute shortage of staff."

Controllers had to cover for others who were sick, and were called in on some rostered days off, Mr Butson said.

Overseas rail operators and companies were picking up New Zealand staff, "and our wages, of course, are languishing behind".

Australian wages for controllers were 30 per cent higher than in New Zealand.

Mr Butson did not believe the public were in any danger, despite the commission finding the operators were fatigued.

The commission has told Ontrack to limit night shifts for controllers, recruit enough staff to allow them to cover for sick days without calling in staff on rostered days off, and to allow a minimum 15-minute break when controllers are required to work past eight hours.

Ontrack has agreed to the recommendations, with the exception that it has said it does not yet know if it can manage the 15-minute breaks.

Posted on 02:54 PM | Permalink

Stuff.co.nz: 14 January 2006

The Rail and Maritime Transport Union of New Zealand says its train controllers are professionals and are keeping the public safe despite an incident where controller fatigue nearly led to a head-on collision.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) yesterday released two railway reports, finding rostered hours for train controllers had been excessive.

In potentially the most serious incident, at Otane, southwest of Hastings on January 18 last year, a head-on clash was only averted because the driver of an oncoming train noticed another train had been told it could go on the same track as his, TAIC found.

In that incident, a controller with 24 years' experience had told a freight train it could cross across the railway line on to another section of rail.

At the time, the controller was about 10 hours into a 12 hour shift, because of a staff shortage.

Also, in the four weeks before the crash, he had been called in to work on four of his seven rostered days off to cover shifts.

In another incident the same day further south at Woodville , TAIC found a different train controller was probably suffering from fatigue when he told a train it could "berth" on the maijl line at Makotuku, when another train had already been told it could "berth" at the same place.

The report said the controller's fatigue was probably "a result of the excessive number of late and night shifts he had worked in the six weeks leading up to the incidents".

In a third incident at Kokiri on the South Island's West Coast on February 3, TAIC found a train controller's fatigue after being called in to do extra shifts had probably caused him to allow a train into an area where contractors were working on the tracks.

But Maritime and Rail Transport Union general secretary Wayne Butson yesterday told NZPA he was satisfied Government track owner Ontrack was working to rectify controller rosters and limit fatigue.

"The main problem at the moment is there is a quite acute shortage of staff."

As long as that shortage continued, controllers would continue to need to cover for others who were sick, and would need to be called in on some rostered days off, Mr Butson said.

"Train controllers don't grow on trees basically - there is quite a long (training) lead in time and we live in a global market.

"With the renaissance of rail worldwide, New Zealand has become a very very good picking ground for overseas rail operators and companies to pick up highly trained, highly skilled staff, and our wages of course are languishing behind."

Australian wages for controllers, for example, were 30 per cent higher than in New Zealand.

Mr Butson did not believe the public were in any danger, despite TAIC finding the operators were fatigued.

"We're talking here about a highly professional, highly intelligent group of people.

"If they had any concerns about their own fitness for doing the job then I have no doubts whatsoever they would say `I'm not safe and I can't do it'."

TAIC has told Ontrack to limit night shifts for controllers, recruit enough staff to allow them to cover for sick days without calling in staff on rostered days off, and to allow a minimum 15 minute break when controllers are required to work past eight hours.

Ontrack has agreed to the recommendations, with the exception that it has said it does not yet know if it can manage the 15 minute breaks.

Posted on 11:39 AM | Permalink

This is Local London: 13 Jan, 2006
By Saxon East

Network Rail is being threatened with an antisocial behaviour order (Asbo) for failing to protect pedestrians from pigeon droppings.

The rail operator has been warned by Wandsworth Council it must carry out pigeon proofing under the railway bridge in Queenstown Road, Battersea, or face a humiliating Asbo.

The bridge has been notorious for pigeon droppings for years. Netting originally put up to stop pigeons roosting proved a desirable new perch for the winged vermin.

Network Rail has promised to do an assessment of the bridge at the end of next month and carry out work if necessary.

The Asbo, usually used to prohibit hooligans and nuisance offenders from areas, would be a symbolic way of shaming Network Rail.

A 10-signature petition handed into the council claimed pedestrians were putting their safety at risk by walking on the road under bridge, rather than tread on the mess-ridden pavements.

One unfortunate pedestrian was hit directly in the eye by a pigeon dropping.

Labour Councillor Stuart King said: "If we are not satisfied with the response from Network Rail I think we should hit them with an Asbo, which is what other authorities have done with people who put up fly posters.

"While I am not sure it would have the immediate impact and embarrassment factor, it might actually push Network Rail along the path they need to be going.

"Six to eight years down the line we seem to get the same promises."

The council has upped its street washing under the bridge from monthly to weekly but residents still complained.

A Network Rail spokeswoman said: "Network Rail would like to thank local people for their patience and assure them that we take issues such as this very seriously.

"Following a full assessment of the bridge, which will be done by the end of February and will identify what work is required, we will arrange for any necessary measures to be done as soon as possible."

Posted on 03:30 PM | Permalink

Bloomberg: Jan. 13

Hamburg's government ended talks on selling the city's ports and bus and subway network to Deutsche Bahn AG, Germany's state-owned railway, saying the train operator failed to meet conditions by dropping a plan to move its headquarters from Berlin.

Hamburg had asked Deutsche Bahn to shift all headquarters operations and top managers to the port city in exchange for selling Hamburger Hafen & Logistik AG and Hamburger Hochbahn AG, the city's senate said today. Deutsche Bahn said in an e-mailed statement yesterday that it didn't expect to move the entire headquarters away from Germany's capital city.

"From Hamburg's point of view, with these statements there is no basis for talks anymore,'' Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust said today in a statement faxed to news organizations. "We therefore consider the talks with the board of Deutsche Bahn AG as over.''

Posted on 03:24 PM | Permalink

Bloomberg: Jan. 12

Deutsche Bahn AG, Germany's state-owned railway, won't to move its headquarters to the northern city of Hamburg from Berlin, the railway and the Transport Ministry said.

Deutsche Bahn Chief Executive Officer Hartmut Mehdorn told Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee that "a move isn't at issue,'' Alexandra Brothan, a spokeswoman at the ministry in Berlin, said in an interview today.

Hamburg's government had asked Deutsche Bahn to move "central functions'' to the port city from Berlin as a condition of selling the city-owned Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG harbor operator and Hamburger Hochbahn AG municipal public-transport authority to the railway company.

Deutsche Bahn's announcement Nov. 25 that it was considering a move to Hamburg, calling the city a "natural center'' for "worldwide logistics'' operations, prompted Tiefensee to say four days later that such a move would be unacceptable for "structural-political reasons.''

The railway is Berlin's biggest employer, with 19,000 employees, including 1,900 people at its headquarters at Potsdamer Platz. The city had an unemployment rate of 17.8 percent in December.

Deutsche Bahn said in an e-mailed statement today that it didn't plan to move the entire headquarters to Hamburg. At the same time, it said, the possibility of shifting some "central functions'' to the city are part of continuing talks with Hamburg's government.

Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust said today in a faxed statements that he expects to present "different negotiation alternatives'' to municipal authorities by mid-March, and that "we have no knowledge about Deutsche Bahn's board drifting away from these principles.''

Hamburg wants to keep between 25 percent and 75 percent of Hamburger Hafen and Hochbahn, Gunnar Uldall, Hamburg's economics minister, said in an interview on Jan. 9.

"It is clear that no matter how the negotiations end, it always has to be guaranteed that the Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG continues to remain an important tool for Hamburg's economic policy,'' Uldall said. "The harbor is too important as an employer to give such an instrument so easy out of hand.''

Hamburger Hafen runs Hamburg's port, rents out storage space and provides logistics services. The company posted 2004 net income of 32.4 million-euro ($39 million) compared with a 2003 loss of 8.5 million euros, according to the Hamburger Hafen Web site.

The Hochbahn, which runs Hamburg's subway trains, streetcars and buses, provides service to 318 million riders annually. The company narrowed its 2004 loss to 63.1 million euros from 67.4 million euros, and employed 4,246 people as of the end of that year, according to its Web site.

Posted on 03:21 PM | Permalink

Deutsche Welle: 12.01.2006
 
After months of bickering between Hamburg and Berlin on whether the German Rail would move is headquarters, the state-owned company is staying in Berlin. In fact, they said, they never planned to leave at all.

The story dominated Berlin newspapers in the final months of 2005: Would the Deutsche Bahn take its headquarters and 1,000 jobs to Hamburg, pushing up the city's 18.1 percent unemployment rate even more?
 
CEO Hartmut Mehdorn, who had expressed the desire to see the state-owned company go private in a few years, wanted to move the headquarters from Berlin to demonstrate independence from the federal government. After a talk with transportation minister Wolfgang Tiefensee Mehdorn, he said discussion about the Bahn's move was a "misunderstanding."
 
"The Bahn never planned to move its headquarters from Berlin to Hamburg," said a Bahn spokesman on Thursday. Rather the talk was of moving "central functions" from Berlin to Hamburg. The rail company also planned to invest in Hamburg's harbor company and the city's public transportation company, Hochbahn.

Thos investments now appear in doubt, although Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust says he will continue negotiations with the Bahn.

Posted on 03:17 PM | Permalink

RMT: 12 January 2006
Circular No. IR11/06 Ref : LUL/0004

Details of RMT's dispute with London Underground Ltd over the Shorter Working Week for our Station and Revenue Control members and LUL's blatant safety breaches are below together with information on the mass meeting (19th January).

Firstly, congratulations to all Station and Revenue Control members who successfully delivered the strike action on New Years Eve and last Sunday and Monday. The intransigence of management has made this course of action necessary and it appears that LUL is more intent on breaking the strike than negotiating a sensible and mature resolution.

The fact that the most recent strike went ahead is nothing short of preposterous. The TUC was called in to assist matters and at eleventh hour talks on Friday 6th  January 2006, a peace deal was hammered out by RMT negotiators, only for it to be scuppered by an internal split in the LUL Board. It just goes to show that LUL, with the backing of the Mayor, are not intent on a settlement, but would rather attempt to break the strike.

RMT members on London Underground are well known for standing up for their rights and, I know from experience, do not take kindly to the sort of bully-boy tactics now been engineered by management and their friends.

For your information I reproduce here the wording of the agreement we thought we had secured before the hawks on the LUL Board stepped in:

?After a meeting between the General Secretary and President of the RMT, and the Operations Director of the LUL convened by the General Secretary of the TUC it has been agreed: 

* That urgent negotiations will take place next week with the aim of reaching agreement on all the outstanding issues relating to the new rosters arising from the implementation of the agreement on the shorter working week
 
* The aim agreed by both sides is to conclude the negotiations to enable notification of the new rosters to all staff as soon as possible. A report back of progress in the negotiations will be made to the TUC General Secretary by 17th January  at the latest
 
* The RMT negotiating team will be led by Bob Crow, with the LUL team by Operations Director, Mike Brown
 
* In the light of those negotiations RMT have agreed to suspend the industrial action.? 

So you can see that your union has done everything in its power to resolve the dispute on behalf of your Station Staff colleagues through sensible negotiations. Unfortunately, LUL do not seem to be working to the same agenda.

During both the strikes, on New Years Eve and on 8th/9th January 2006, London Underground has been guilty of serious and blatant breaches of safety in order to provide some sort of service. These breaches include, but are not confined to, the following:

* Train operation continuing where 3 consecutive stations are closed
* Trains stopping at stations with no platform staff present
* Individual members of staff working up to 24 hours continuously
* Individual members of staff covering station work without appropriate training and/or familiarisation.

These breaches are of such magnitude that the General Grades Committee has decided to ballot all other LUL members for industrial action as a result of this blatant disregard for safety. 

Ballot papers will be dispatched on Tuesday 17th January 3006 asking members to vote for action short of a strike. This means that they will not be called out on strike, but in the event of a majority YES vote, will be asked to take some form of action such as a work to rule, overtime ban or other similar forms of action to be determined upon by the General Grades Committee in consultation with Local, Functional and Safety reps.

Communication with members is as you know vital at times like these and I have written to all LUL members this week, updating them on the position. In addition I have organised a mass meeting of members which will take place on Thursday 19th January 2006 at Friends House, Euston Rd, starting at 1800 hours. (see poster in the link below for further details).

I will of course keep you advised of all developments.

Posted on 09:41 AM | Permalink

ABC News: January 12, 2006

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union says it is encouraged by the NSW Government's moves to boost security on buses and reduce the level of violence against transport workers.

Transport Minister John Watkins has announced the Crime Act will be amended to put assaults against public transport staff in the same category as assaults against police and nurses.

Raul Baonza from the union says it also supports a move to install security screens on buses.

"We welcome the Government's announcement ... in consultation with the union and the bus operators - there are many types of screens and we will find one which is acceptable to bus operators and that we can live with and that it also increases the level of security for drivers," he said.

Mr Baonza says the move to amend Crimes Act is a positive step.

"We welcome the changes to the legislation that will recognise essential services workers and any offence against them will carry heavy penalties," he said.

"I hope it will reduce the attacks - I'm not sure to what point you can guarantee that nobody is ever going to be attacked again, but certainly we hope to see a reduction in the number of assaults and the seriousness of the assaults."

Posted on 12:12 AM | Permalink

RTBU: 10 Jan 2006
By Phillip Kessey, Lead Organiser

Members would be aware of the ongoing campaign by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union to address issues associated with Violence against Public Transport Workers.

Several sub-divisions have moved resolutions supporting the Rail, Tram and Bus Union's actions in highlighting the level of violence occurring in the workplace.

Following an extensive media campaign and the resulting pressure brought to bear, both the NSW Transport Minister and the RailCorp CEO contacted the RTBU to discuss the matter.

The NSW Transport Minister and the Attorney General have organised a meeting with the RTBU Bus and Rail Divisions on Wednesday 11th January 2005 to discuss the unacceptable situation facing Public Transport Workers.

Further, the RailCorp CEO has organised a meeting with Senior Officers and Delegates for Tuesday 10th January 2005 to discuss the specific issue of violence against rail workers.

Members are advised that at this meeting the RTBU will be seeking practical outcomes with additional funding and resources as members are sick of empty rhetoric.

Issues that we will be seeking for the Government and RailCorp to address include:

? Increased penalties for people who assault Public Transport Workers

? Improved organisational Support for Public Transport Workers who are assaulted

? Removal of the threat of possible dismissal of a member after being assaulted

? Real consultation with frontline staff to seek ideas on how to curb violence in the workplace

? A comprehensive safety review of violence against Public Transport Workers

? The formation of a Public Transport Workers Industry Group to investigate strategies and solutions in dealing with violence against Transport Workers

The RailCorp CEO has also given a commitment to investigate claims from Guards that a Senior Manager made threats of dismissal against Guards who left their cabins and ended up in scuffles.

The RTBU is currently seeking legal advice in relation to possible prosecutions against RailCorp for breaching NSW Occupational Health and Safety Legislation.

Members will be advised of further developments and outcomes of the above meetings.

For further information

Contact : RTBU NSW Branch
Phone : (02) 9264 2511
Fax : (02) 9261 1342
Email : nswho@rtbu-nsw.asn.au
WWW : http://rtbu-nsw.asn.au

Posted on 11:52 PM | Permalink

Radio Cadena Agramonte: Jan 9, 2006

Havana - The first 12 locomotives bought by Cuba from China have arrived in Havana to be used in important economic activities.

The 2,500-horsepower high-tech engines were designed taking into account the characteristics of the Cuban railway system and have automated security systems.

The cost and transportation of the locomotives was over 15 million dollars with credit offered by the Chinese government, reported Granma daily newspaper.

Since early 2005, when Cuba embarked on an effort to renovate its cargo train network, some 60 locomotive engines have been repaired, along with 1,800 freight cars.

The recovery marks another sign in the upturn of the Cuban economy despite the hardening of the US blockade imposed against Cuba more than four decades ago.

Non-food train cargo increased by 13 percent, while food shipments by train were 60 percent higher than in 2004.

Along with the 12 locomotives, Cuba also received 80 buses of a 1,000 total under contract with China. Of them, 700 are expected to be in use for long distance public transportation in the first half of the current year.

The new buses represent an investment of more than 100 million dollars that will benefit important economic and social sectors. Transportation in Cuba is expected to continue recovering during 2006 with the acquisition of new and more efficient vehicles. (AIN)

Posted on 04:39 PM | Permalink

This Day: January 10, 2006
(Lagos)

A high level delegation would be travelling to China this week in a bid to secure finances for a comprehensive rehabilitation of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Alhaji Abdulrahman Abubakar, who disclosed this to newsmen said the delegation would consist of ministers of finance, communication, transport, power and steel.

"The President is very serious about revitalisation of the railways and a lot is being done to ensure that rehabilitation is carried out promptly and efficiently," he said.

Abubakar explained that the delegation was going with a view to securing a loan from the Chinese government.

He, however, said government's concession of the railways was on course as a transaction adviser had been selected by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to handle this.

Abubakar said further that as part of efforts to rehabilitate the railways, discussions had reached an advanced stage with the Nigeria Ports Authority for the reactivation of the rail lines at the ports.

He said within the first quarter of 2006, the rail lines at Apapa port would have been reactivated.

He added that plans were also in the offing to construct standard gauge lines from Lagos to Abuja.

"This year, we are hoping to live up to the expectation of Nigerians, "Abubakar added.

Posted on 04:32 PM | Permalink

Transport News Network: 11 Jan, 2006

EWS, Britain's largest rail freight operator, has acquired 75 wagons with moveable floors for pallet services.

The wagons will enable EWS to promote a range of new services across Britain targeted towards the requirements of the palletised goods markets.

The wagons, acquired from BMW, were originally used for carrying car components, and are a high cube rail van with a distinctive moveable floor capable of carrying loaded pallets stacked one above the other. With a gross laden weight of up to 59.5 tonnes these wagons will give EWS a competitive advantage against road in the palletised goods market.

The moveable floor enables pallets to be loaded on two tiers. Customers will be able to experience a quick "in and out" service, particularly useful for busy terminals.

Trains will be able to operate at speeds of 75 mph, enabling quicker journey times than road operations.

Andrea Rawling, EWS Sales and Development Manager General Merchandise, said: "These wagons will play a crucial role in EWS's programme to win 33 million tonnes of new freight traffic to rail. During the first months of 2006, EWS will be marketing these new services to the express pallet market, with a particular focus on palletised and bagged products to develop the fast moving consumer goods rail sector. The volume and weight achievable via these wagons will enable EWS to offer an economical rail solution for customers currently using road."

Posted on 04:27 PM | Permalink

Independent online: 11 January 2006
By Peter Woodman, PA

The workings of new high-tech security systems to detect would-be train terrorists were shown off today at Paddington station in London.

A seven-metre-long steel box has been erected next to Heathrow Express platforms at the west London station.

Inside the box is a millimetre wave scanner which can detect items concealed beneath clothes.

Next to it is a baggage-screening device, and the whole security box is to be tested for four weeks at Paddington starting from tomorrow.

The new systems were first announced last autumn by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, and there will be further trials on the London Underground and at other mainline stations.

It will take passengers about 80 seconds to pass through the security box. During the trial at Paddington a small number of randomly-selected passengers will be asked to take part.

On entering the box they will pass into the scanner where they will place their feet on footmarks on the floor and raise their arms in the air. In the far corner of the box is a booth in which a screener sits, and this screener will receive a robot-like body image of the scanned passenger.

At the same time the passenger's bags will pass through an X-ray machine, and if necessary there will also be a body search of the passenger by hand.

A person cannot be identified from the image and the image is deleted when the next person enters the scanner. Male staff will work only with male passengers' images and female staff only with female passengers' images.

The trial tomorrow is being seen merely as a test of the equipment and not as a security measure as such, although it could lead to the use of the equipment as an anti-terrorist measure eventually.

Last November Mr Darling made it clear that it was not possible to introduce airport-style security on the railways and on London Underground because of the sheer weight of passenger numbers.

He told a transport conference in London in November: "You just simply couldn't have people queuing up for hours to get through - you would be doing the terrorists' job for them. What you can do is ask yourself whether, on a selective basis, at a point where it is appropriate, it could help to make things safer and reduce the risk.

The workings of new high-tech security systems to detect would-be train terrorists were shown off today at Paddington station in London.

A seven-metre-long steel box has been erected next to Heathrow Express platforms at the west London station.

Inside the box is a millimetre wave scanner which can detect items concealed beneath clothes.

Next to it is a baggage-screening device, and the whole security box is to be tested for four weeks at Paddington starting from tomorrow.

The new systems were first announced last autumn by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, and there will be further trials on the London Underground and at other mainline stations.

It will take passengers about 80 seconds to pass through the security box. During the trial at Paddington a small number of randomly-selected passengers will be asked to take part.

On entering the box they will pass into the scanner where they will place their feet on footmarks on the floor and raise their arms in the air. In the far corner of the box is a booth in which a screener sits, and this screener will receive a robot-like body image of the scanned passenger.

At the same time the passenger's bags will pass through an X-ray machine, and if necessary there will also be a body search of the passenger by hand.

A person cannot be identified from the image and the image is deleted when the next person enters the scanner. Male staff will work only with male passengers' images and female staff only with female passengers' images.

The trial tomorrow is being seen merely as a test of the equipment and not as a security measure as such, although it could lead to the use of the equipment as an anti-terrorist measure eventually.
Last November Mr Darling made it clear that it was not possible to introduce airport-style security on the railways and on London Underground because of the sheer weight of passenger numbers.

He told a transport conference in London in November: "You just simply couldn't have people queuing up for hours to get through - you would be doing the terrorists' job for them. What you can do is ask yourself whether, on a selective basis, at a point where it is appropriate, it could help to make things safer and reduce the risk.

Posted on 04:20 PM | Permalink

Circular No. IR001/06: 5 January 2006
Ref : BR4/0253

Latest information on wearing of hard hats - details below.

In my circular to Branches dated 27th October 2005 (IR435/05) I advised you of the agreement that this union had reached with Network Rail over the wearing of hard hats. Subsequent to this, I was instructed by the General Grades Committee to write to all the renewals companies with whom we have recognition rights, seeking common sense, risk based agreements on hard hats. 

The matter has recently been considered once more by the General Grades Committee who have taken the following decision:-

"We note that the General Secretary has met and continues to meet with our reps and companies. The General Secretary is instructed to report on such meetings to the General Grades Committee as and when necessary.

"Further, we note the exemptions to the wearing of hard hats made by Network Rail. We would also instruct the General Secretary to actively encourage our members' reps to seek further exemptions where they feel they are acceptably justified through the risk assessment process applicable to all companies. Any problems incurred should be forwarded for the attention of the General Grades Committee."

I shall continue to keep you advised of all developments.

Yours sincerely,

Bob Crow
General Secretary

Posted on 06:51 AM | Permalink