The Sunday Times: February 12, 2006
Dominic O'Connell

NETWORK RAIL is studying a controversial 're-privatisation' plan under which it would borrow money outside the government indemnity that guarantees it cheap finance.

The scheme is revealed in a document published just before Christmas by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). It says Network Rail "is currently examining the costs and benefits of raising a tranche of capital not supported by (the indemnity), possibly with a coupon linked to the company?s financial performance."

Such a move would be an about-face for the financing of Network Rail, which was set up by the government to take over the running of Britain?s rail network after Railtrack collapsed into administration in 2001.

Network Rail has no shareholders - it is a company limited by guarantee - but is able to borrow money as it has the explicit backing of government.

In a letter of comfort to investors, the government agreed to honour the company's debts in almost all circumstances. This has allowed Network Rail to borrow at cheap rates. Its debts are expected to increase from about £16 billion at present to some £20 billion by 2009.

But the ORR says this guaranteed cheap finance means that it is difficult to place any incentives on Network Rail's management. "The company's structure means that the normal pressures from the capital markets for the company to meet and exceed investor expectations are absent," the ORR.

If Network Rail was allowed to generate profits, it could then raise its own finance without recourse to the government guarantee. If payments on these new loans were tied to the company's performance, investors would then have direct scrutiny of management performance.The new loans would also allow the government to distance itself from Network Rail, the ORR notes.

"Furthermore, it could enable the government to begin to limit the future coverage (of the indemnity), if it felt that it was appropriate to redistribute risks from itself, and other funders and customers, to investors."

Network Rail said last night that the considerations of the plan were at an early stage, and that no decisions had been taken. No adviser has been appointed to draw up new funding proposals.

But a senior rail source said Network Rail and the Department for Transport, its sponsoring department, had been working on similar ideas for sometime. "The idea is that these investors would provide the type of disciplines and scrutiny that you normally get from investors in a private company," the source said.

Posted on 12:52 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 12 February 2006

The signal which was blamed for the deaths of 31 people in the 1999 Paddington rail crash has been brought back into service.

The inquiry into the crash concluded signal SN-109 was difficult to read in bright sunlight.

Network Rail said the signal had been repositioned and upgraded.

More than 400 people were also injured after a Thames Trains train went through a red light at Ladbroke Grove shortly after leaving Paddington.

'Persistent failure'

The train operated by recently-qualified driver Michael Hodder hit a Cheltenham to Paddington Great Western express on 5 October 1999.

Lord Cullen's report into the crash said there had been a "lamentable failure" by maintenance firm Railtrack to respond to safety warnings on the stretch of track before the accident.

There was "a serious and persistent failure" by the company to look at how well signals could be sighted, the inquiry concluded.

"We've done everything we possibly can in terms of safety measures, to make sure such a tragic accident never happens again" - Robin Gisby, Network Rail

Robin Gisby, director of operations at Network Rail, said it had taken on board all the recommendations from the enquiry.

He rejected criticisms from the train drivers unions, Aslef, that there had not been enough consultation about the decision, saying the signal had passed necessary safety checks.

"Obviously everybody's deeply sorry about what happened at the time, bringing it back now, as I say, will improve the operational layout of Paddington," he said.

"We've done everything we possibly can in terms of safety measures, to make sure such a tragic accident never happens again."

Chairman of the Paddington Survivors Group, Jonathan Duckworth, told BBC 5 Live that despite its central role in the crash, he was not opposed to the idea of the signal being brought back into use.

'Move on'

He said: "Initially your feelings are very strong, about the crash, about the fact that there was a signal that was difficult to see, that drivers didn't feel comfortable passing.

"But as long as all due process has been gone through, then I suppose our view is that the crash happened six years ago, and things have to move on from that."

Lord Cullen also said the culture of safety in regard to the training of drivers was "slack and less than adequate".

Thames Trains pleaded guilty to health and safety offences in 2004 and was fined £2m.

In November last year, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Network Rail, which took over Railtrack's duties after the firm went into administration, would face criminal charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Posted on 12:49 PM | Permalink

Cape Argus: February 10, 2006
By Maureen Marud

Angry Cape Metrorail drivers and guards have threatened to strike because they are caught between the conflicting demands of commuters and the rail authority over the issue of broken doors.

They face prosecution for culpable homicide if commuters are killed falling out of open doors, yet face suspension from Metrorail if they cause delays by refusing to move while the doors are open.

"We are sitting with an explosive situation, which is why there have been threats of strikes," said Chris de Vos, general secretary of the United Transport and Allied Trade Union, yesterday.

The announcement by Cosatu and the Rail Commuters Action Group of a march to parliament on Sunday had prompted strike threats by drivers and guards, said De Vos.

"Drivers and guards are caught between two fires. If they allow trains to depart with open doors, commuters will charge them with culpable homicide if anyone is killed falling out. If they refuse to let the train leave because the doors will not close, Metrorail management will suspend them for delaying the service."

Les van Minnen, head of the Commuter Action Group, said commuters had brought criminal charges against the rail operator and its drivers and guards.

Guard Ronnie Kotze said he had been suspended for a month by Metrorail for refusing to let "a totally overcrowded train" depart with open doors.

"There is nothing that covers us if criminal action is brought against us. But the trains, and specifically the doors, are in a terrible, terrible mess and are not being repaired," said Kotze.

The condition of the trains is one of the reasons for Sunday's march, when the commuter group and Cosatu will hand a memorandum to the ministers of Transport, Finance and Labour, the Rail Safety Regulator, the Western Cape Department of Public Prosecutions, the Public Protector and the Human Rights Commission.

De Vos said he would meet André Harrison, regional manager of Metrorail, to discuss the "explosive situation".

"My advice to our members is that nobody can force them to depart from a station with an unsafe train.

"If management wants to suspend them, it is better to take the suspension than land up in court."

Following a Constitutional Court decision in November which ruled that Metrorail was responsible for the safety and security of its passengers, Metrorail's Western Cape regional manager led a campaign for doors to be closed, said Kotze.

However, a few months later Kotze had been suspended for refusing to let a train depart with open doors.

Doors were sometimes forced open by commuters packed into carriages that lacked proper ventilation, said Kotze.

Efforts to reach Metrorail for comment today were unsuccessful.

Marchers will hold a vigil on the parliament stairs from 5pm to 8pm on Sunday. Anyone injured on a train and unable to travel to parliament should contact Cosatu on 021 448 0045.

Posted on 11:39 AM | Permalink

RMT Circular No: IR/035/06
VCXTrainManagers_Dispute.doc (98k file)
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 01:00 PM | Permalink

The New York Times: February 11, 2006
By ANTHONY RAMIREZ

An arbitrator has ruled for a second time against the New York City Transit Authority's plan to remove the conductor on certain low-traffic routes, leaving the motorman at the head of the train to run the train alone.

Critics said the planned cutback, on the weekday G line from Brooklyn to Queens, endangered passengers in the event of crime. But the arbitrator, citing an earlier ruling, ruled that the cutback violated the union's contract.

Both the union and the authority said the arbitrator's ruling was narrow and did not create a precedent to stop the authority's campaign to reduce staffing on the train.

Separately, the authority said yesterday that subway ridership had risen 1.5 percent from the year earlier to 1.45 billion trips. It is the highest level since the Eisenhower administration, when ridership reached a record 1.5 billion trips in 1953.

In a statement, Lawrence G. Reuter, the transit authority president, attributed the rise to more tourists, a resilient economy, fare discounts and what he called "ongoing improvements and upgrades" to the subway system.

Bus ridership, however, fell 4.2 million trips to 736.4 million, a drop of nearly 0.6 percent from the year-ago level.

In 1994, the union and the authority agreed on three criteria to determine when trains could resort to one-person train operation.

First, the train had to be shorter than the typical 8- to-10-car train so that a motorman could see the full length of the train. The union and the authority agreed on a train of less than 300 feet, typically four cars.

The other criteria were low-traffic stations so platforms were not crowded and, similarly, nonrush times to reduce distractions for the motorman.

The Times Square shuttle runs one-person at off-peak hours, for example, and the M train runs that way on weekends, while the Lefferts shuttle on the No. 5 line does so after midnight.

Last August, a state arbitrator, Richard Adelman, ruled that the authority could not remove the conductor from the L line from Manhattan to Brooklyn because the line was not specifically cited in the 1994 agreement.

In the most recent ruling, dated Wednesday, Mr. Adelman ruled that the authority could not pull conductors off the G line because to do so would run the train one-person at a high-traffic time, namely weekdays, in violation of the contract. The ruling was reported yesterday in The Daily News.

The authority had argued that the wording of the contract permitted one-person operation both weekdays and weekends. "We obviously disagree with the arbitrator's decision," Charles F. Seaton, a transit spokesman, said in an interview.

Roger Toussaint, the president of the transit workers' union, said in an interview that the ruling was "a big victory for riders and for our members in terms of safety and security."

But he doubted that the authority would quit its plan to reduce staffing and observed that the rank and file's rejection of the December contract meant the issue was still a live one.

"Binding arbitration is a minefield," he said. The rejected contract effectively ended one-person trains, he said. "But now the authority can introduce any argument on the grounds of safety and security" in arbitration hearings.

Ruling derails TA plans to cut G train conductors

DAILY NEWS: February 10, 2006
BY PETE DONOHUE, STAFF WRITER

The transit workers union has won another battle to keep conductors on subways - securing a legal order directing the Transit Authority not to gut G train crews, the Daily News has learned.

The TA last year announced plans to take conductors off weekday G-line trains, which run through Queens and Brooklyn. That would leave motormen to drive the rigs, operate doors at stations and monitor platforms during departures.

But an arbitrator ruled Wednesday that the staffing cut violates a previous agreement with Transport Workers Union Local 100. Motormen can't safely perform all those tasks, and conductors are needed to help out in emergencies, such as train evacuations, the union has argued.

"It's another victory for the safety and security of riders and workers," Local 100 President Roger Toussaint said yesterday.

The same arbitrator ruled in August that the TA wrongly took conductors off L trains - and ordered they be returned.

The TA disagrees with both decisions, an agency spokesman said.

The TA operates one-person crews on a handful of shuttles and trains that are shorter than the normal eight-car configurations - but only at times when ridership doesn't go beyond a fixed limit. That includes the G line on weekends.

The only avenue left for the TA to expand the so-called "one person train operation," according to the union, is if the union agrees to it - which Toussaint vowed will never happen on his watch.

Transit and union officials agreed to a tentative contract in December that was silent on conductors' roles. By default, that meant their jobs couldn't be changed or eliminated, union officials contend. But that pact, which followed an illegal three-day strike, was rejected last month by just seven votes.

Conductors and motormen who stood to win a measure of job security under the contract, voted against the deal by the largest margins of any other transit worker group.

Posted on 11:34 AM | Permalink

New Zealand herald: 11.02.06

Train crew surprised by home made jigger on tracks.

A freight train engine crew rounding a bend on the Napier-Gisborne rail line found three men riding a home-made jigger on the tracks.

The men leapt from the motorised jigger and ran off, leaving it on the line. The train ploughed into it, leaving it a mangled wreck but the beer the trio had on board in a chilly bin survived, the Dominion Post reported today.

The incident happened last week near Tutira, north of Napier, at a time when trains are not usually scheduled. The jigger was made from junk including car seats and a lawnmower engine.

"We can only wonder at the stupidity of people risking their lives in this way," an Ontrack Rail spokesman said.

"They were also breaking the law. If they can be traced, Ontrack will consider taking action against them."

- NZPA

Posted on 11:28 AM | Permalink

South Wales Echo: Feb 10 2006
David James, South Wales Echo

The under-fire boss of Arriva Trains Wales has refused the South Wales Echo's challenge to commute with frustrated passengers.

Managing director Graeme Bunker's decision has provoked fury among commuters, who said he 'lacked courage'.

Instead of agreeing to take a packed commuter train to see what his passengers and Echo readers have to put up with, the 31-year-old Welsh rail supremo offered to meet a group of his unhappy customers to discuss their concerns in a more 'constructive' environment.

The Echo thanks Mr Bunker for his offer - which we will accept.

But we repeat our call for him to take a cramped morning train and be seen publicly to understand the conditions his customers suffer - a suggestion which came from many of our angry readers.

Readers feel his boasting about 'record-breaking performance' shows he is out of touch with a vital service they say is getting worse.

When we told Mr Bunker's spokeswoman this, she again refused to accept our challenge.

She said: 'A fleeting few moments before getting on a train does not give an opportunity to listen to their concerns. We want them to meet us in a forum situation, listen to what they have to say and the kind of timescale that they are working to.

'Our priority right now is listening to people and moving forward and this is the best way of doing that.'

Passengers today dismissed the Arriva boss - whose company receives an annual £141m subsidy from the taxpayer - as out of touch and backed the Echo's stance.

Taffs Well to Cardiff Central commuter Natalie Jones, of Gwaelod Y Garth, said: 'I wrote to him and I challenged him to spend a day in my shoes. I haven't had any response.

'He can't possibly understand what's going on with the service. More than that I think he just doesn't care.'

Dad-of-two David Cowles, 61, of Fidlas Avenue, Cardiff, added: 'I would have thought he would have the courage to do it. I'm surprised he isn't brave enough to face all his passengers.

'The trains are worse now than they have been for years.'

Mr Bunker's spokeswoman issued a statement which read: 'I am very much aware of the problems commuters are facing on their journeys into Cardiff.

'We are looking at numerous ways of tackling overcrowding and will be meeting with assembly officials next week to discuss possible solutions.

'I am sorry to hear about the experiences of some of our customers as reported in yesterday's Echo. I would like to reassure them that we are doing our utmost to make things better for them.

'I am more than happy to meet with the customers, and the Echo reporter featured in the article, next week to listen to their concerns and to outline what we are doing to improve the situation.

'I would also like to encourage any other customers affected to contact our customer relations department so we can deal with their concerns directly.'

Arriva's customer relations department can be contacted by phoning 0845 6061 660 or via the company's website located at: www. arrivatrainswales.co.uk. nbsp;

Lines are open between 8am and 8pm Monday to Saturday and 11am and 8pm on Sundays.

Cancelled, crowded, dirty trains - my daily hell

Zoe Hawkins is fed up with Welsh trains.

The 24-year-old spends two hours a day squashed into usually overcrowded, often dirty trains from Treherbert to Cathays and back again.

'It is guaranteed every day there is a problem, whether it be overcrowding - which I believe is an understatement - cancelled trains or trains that are late by 10 minutes or more,' said the Companies House employee.

Zoe, of Mary Street, Treherbert, was so incensed by cramped, unhealthy conditions on her trip to work yesterday morning she took photographs of the overcrowding on her 5.45pm service home in the evening.

She said: 'Yesterday morning, we were all overwhelmed by the fumes coming from the train.

'The guard told us to close the window, but it was only by opening the window we could all actually breathe - the fumes were obviously coming up inside the train, not from the outside. However, the staff were hardly bothered about it.'

In the past, when trains have been cancelled, the 24-year-old has had to take a train into Cardiff Central so that she can be certain of being able to get on a train out of the city.

She said: 'Over Christmas, the trains were so terrible you just couldn't get on at Cathays.

'I had to take a train into Cardiff Central just to be able to get on. As soon as the train gets to Queen Street there's just hundreds of people waiting and by the time it gets to Cathays you haven't got a chance.'

Yesterday evening, she waited with scores of passengers at Cathays station, as packed trains pulled up, and recorded the cramped conditions. She said: 'I feel it a complete and utter cheek that I have to pay £21 - yes they even put their prices up in January - for a weekly ticket when I cannot even sit on a seat I have paid for.'

... and Zoe's not the only one to suffer

PAUL Wakefield, 43, a designer from Barry, said: 'I get on the Bridgend to Cardiff train at Barry to come to work and it's a nightmare.

'It's rarely possible to get a seat by the time the train gets to Barry, though there are still several more stops before arriving at Cardiff.

'It's actually far from uncommon to find that by the time the train gets to Cadoxton (two stops on) many people are simply unable to squeeze on the train due to overcrowding, and have no choice but to wait for the next train.

'I'm surprised there aren't safety regulations to curb the overcrowding or will it take an incident of some sort to wake Arriva up to the issue?'

TERRY Richards, from Pontypridd, said: 'This Arriva company is abysmal. That would be my way of describing them.

'I go to watch Cardiff and Wales play rugby and can't get there on time. It's overcrowded, claustrophobic and dangerous.

'They [Arriva] should be thrown out of the franchise in South Wales and it should be given to someone who will do things properly.'

JAMES Downes, from Llandaff, Cardiff, said: 'I catch the train daily between Llandaff and Cardiff Queen Street. Trains are more often than not late and sometimes cancelled completely.

'That said, the major problem is overcrowding. I am often unable to get on the train at Llandaff because most peak time trains only have two carriages.

'I often have to wait until two or three trains have gone by before I can get on and even then the trains tend to be overcrowded. I never get a seat on any train before 8.50am.

'Travellers are packed in like sardines. I am sure that it is only a matter of time before a major incident occurs.'

RHIANNON Simms, from Splott, Cardiff, said: 'They [Arriva] released the new timetable saying it would make the service better but since then the trains have got worse.

'I get the train up to Bargoed at least twice a week and the delays are getting much worse. I just can't rely on them anymore.

'They are constantly delayed and there's nothing we can do about it.

'They need to become more reliable. It's completely irresponsible to promise to take people somewhere for a certain time and then not do it.'

Posted on 11:20 AM | Permalink

Daily Telegraph: 11/02/2006
By Alistair Osborne 

The senior civil servant in charge of Britain's railways was yesterday told he must stand trial for allegedly assaulting a GNER train steward.

Mike Mitchell, 57, who is the director-general of railways at the Department for Transport, made his first appearance before magistrates at a hearing in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

He was told he must stand trial on July 6 at Peterborough magistrates' court to answer charges of common assault and offensive behaviour against Peter Etherington, a GNER customer services assistant.

The maximum penalty is six months in prison.

Mr Mitchell, who earns £150,000 a year, is accused of assaulting Mr Etherington on June 14 last year as he served food on a GNER express from London King's Cross to Newcastle. The incident occurred as the train approached Peterborough.

Mr Mitchell entered formal not guilty pleas by letter to the charges at a hearing on January 9.

In court, Mr Mitchell, from Almondbury, West Yorkshire, spoke only to give his name, age and address.

The Crown Prosecution Service has taken witness statements from four people, including a uniformed police officer who saw the incident.

Asked if Mr Mitchell would be suspended from his duties pending the trial, a Department for Transport spokesman said: "No. There's no change. He will continue his job as normal."

Posted on 10:59 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 10 February 2006

The civil servant in charge of the country's railways is to stand trial accused of assaulting a train steward.

Director-general of Railways Michael Mitchell, 57, is charged with attacking GNER rail steward Peter Etherington on a train.

The alleged assault happened near Peterborough on 14 June last year.

Mr Mitchell, from Almondbury, near Huddersfield, was ordered to stand trial when he appeared before magistrates in Peterborough.

He was appointed by the then-Transport Secretary Alistair Darling in February 2005, and will stand trial at Peterborough Magistrates' Court on charges of assault by beating and of offensive behaviour on a train.

He had entered formal not guilty pleas to the two charges by letter at an earlier hearing.

Posted on 10:57 AM | Permalink

Guardian Online: February 9, 2006
Paul Owen and agencies

London Underground drivers are planning to stage two 24-hour strikes, union leaders announced today. Drivers from Aslef and the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union plan to strike on Tuesday, February 21 and Thursday, March 2, unless a dispute over industrial relations can be resolved.

However, Keith Norman, Aslef's general secretary, said that "considerable progress" had been made during talks between the two sides, raising hopes that the strikes still could be avoided.

Mr Norman said: "During the past 10 days we have had constructive talks and have made considerable progress." The two unions accuse London Underground of ignoring agreements, imposing change without negotiation and inflicting excessive and draconian punishments against staff.

Aslef members voted 4-1 in favour of the industrial action, while members of the RMT voted 6-1 in favour.

Roger Evans, the chair of the London Assembly's transport committee, said that the strikers had "thrown down a gauntlet" to Ken Livingstone, London's mayor.

"Something must be done about this union leadership, which seems determined to undermine the great job the majority of tube workers do for Londoners," he said.

Mr Evans said there ought to be a plan to make sure passengers could still travel on strike days, including extra buses, passenger information and a suspension of the congestion charge.

The tube is used by around 3 million passengers every day, and strikes usually leave the bus and train networks unable to cope with the extra passengers.

Mr Evans, the Conservative Assembly member for Havering and Redbridge, said that in the long-term "we need tough legislation to outlaw future strikes".

London's commuters were "pawns in a battle between leftwing dinosaurs", he said, referring to union leaders and Mr Livingstone. "This will be a defining test of the mayor's leadership."

A spokeswoman for the mayor said he would not be issuing any comment on the strikes.

At London Underground, a spokesman said that there was "no justification" for strike action. He said that the RMT were "misleading their members" and that "London Underground is not imposing anything on tube staff".

"The fact is that we launched a consultation with all our trade unions on new harassment, discipline and attendance procedures before Christmas," the spokesman said. "That consultation continues.

"It's unreasonable to call strikes before consultation has taken place on these issues and before the RMT have even informed us of their views on the proposals we are consulting them on. The RMT should return to talks to sort out these matters through discussion and consultation."

An Aslef spokesman said that individual tube lines operated different policies on a range of issues, and claimed that disciplinary appeals appeared to be "pointless exercises" rather than serious reconsiderations. Officials also complained that representatives were not allowed time off for union duties.

Andy Reed, the union's national organiser, said that industrial relations on the tube varied from "hostility to anarchy".

Posted on 02:44 PM | Permalink

Daily Mirror: 9 February 2006
By Kate Holton

LONDON (Reuters) - Preparations for London's 2012 Olympics could become hostage to a bitter labour dispute over the city's transport network and the mayor -- who made his name as a radical left-winger -- is under pressure to step in.

The seemingly intractable conflict over the underground rail network has evoked memories of the infamous British strikes of the 1970s and 80s which marked Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher's early premiership.

It's not a new scenario for organisers of the Olympics: the buildup to the 2004 Games in Athens was dogged by disputes with public and private sector workers, and the International Olympic Committee was forced to appeal directly to Greek labour unions.

Analysts say London Mayor Ken Livingstone needs to act early to stop the same thing happening in Britain's capital.

Workers on the Tube, as the underground system is known, have staged a series of walk-outs, claiming a "serious breakdown in industrial relations" with their London Underground employers over working hours and safety regulations.

Analysts believe it is time for "Red Ken", as the mayor was known, to challenge them.

And for Livingstone it is personal.

The 60-year-old mayor was a key member of the team which won the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games, having chosen to back the bid as a way of renovating London's run-down East End.

"The problem that the unions have is that, if in any way they are seen to be threatening the Olympic Games, they will threaten the central myth about new London," said Tony Travers, director of the Greater London Group of researchers at the London School of Economics.

"London is a happy, wonderful multicultural place in which the economy booms, the Olympics are held and there is multicultural harmony," he said.

"The RMT (trade union) are putting themselves in line to threaten that very powerful image that Livingstone wants to project and he will not put up with it," Travers told Reuters.

So far Livingstone has said he has no intention of "rewarding bad behaviour" and urged the workers to cooperate.

OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITY

A recent report by the London Assembly, an elected body which advises the mayor, called on the unions to refrain from striking either in the lead-up to or during the Games but Travers fears this advice will fall on deaf ears.

"I would have thought that the Olympics were too good an opportunity to miss from the unions' point of view," he said.

Mike Terry, a professor in industrial relations at Warwick Business School, said any large construction event with a set deadline provided workers with a "real moment of power".

But he said he did not expect the widespread problems of Athens to be repeated in London as the majority of workers in the construction and tourism industries are not unionised.

But railway workers are.

Compared to other transport workers, underground drivers are paid well, with an average annual salary of 35,000 pounds ($61,000) for a 35-hour week and 52 holiday days per year.

But the underground workers accuse their employers of imposing change without negotiation and say jobs are at risk.

Leading the fight against Livingstone is Bob Crow, the burly general secretary of the RMT. He accuses London Underground employers of harassment, imposing excessive punishments and undermining safety.
He says his workers have no alternative but to strike.

"Our members have resisted lies, aggressive intimidation and blatant bribery by Tube management and openly hostile media coverage to show their determination to defend their own and the travelling public's safety," Crow has said.

STAND-OFF

The stand-off has resulted in numerous walk-outs, with two in January alone, and an estimated cost of 1 million pounds ($1.7 million) to businesses for every day of industrial action.

But Terry said Crow was simply doing what he had been elected to do.

"It was already known what his politics and his approach towards negotiation and the ... strike weapon were," he said.

Terry said London Underground should try to reassure workers about the future.

The company has already said it is making changes -- such as moving staff to different locations -- simply to improve its service and has no intention of cutting jobs.

"It's a classic dispute," Terry said. "It's a dispute over the attempts to introduce for economic and operating reasons changes which are unlikely, under any circumstances, to be popular with the people they have an impact on."

And Travers says it could take some time to resolve.

"We know Livingstone is a man of very determined approach and when he decides to do something he just sticks to it," he said. "I don't think the unions should be under any illusion that if he does decide to see them down, he will see it through, even if it involves a long strike."

Posted on 11:35 AM | Permalink

Press Asssociation: February 9, 2006

Yesterday in Parliament Dawn Butler, Labour MP for Brent South used Prime Minister's Question Time to address Tony Blair directly on rail station staffing.

Labour's Dawn Butler, in whose Brent South constituency City lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce was stabbed to death last month, called on the PM to condemn the lack of staff at the station near the scene of the attack.

Mr Blair said he would look "very carefully" into the issue she raised. Ms Butler said Mr ap Rhys Pryce was killed close to Kensal Green station, north west London, which had been left unstaffed.

Posted on 11:27 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 8 February 2006

A £63m cash boost has been unveiled by the government to complete work on a station that will eventually be linked to London's new Eurostar terminal. The station helps the Olympic transport plans.

The new Thameslink stop, built beneath St Pancras station in north London, will now be fitted out with platforms and should be in use by December 2007.

Concerns had been raised the station would not be used for years due to a lack of funding.

The stop will replace King's Cross Thameslink station on Pentonville Road.

Making the announcement on Wednesday, Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, said: "This new station will provide an excellent interchange between Thameslink and national and international services.

'Twin-platform station'

"It will also provide better access to passengers who use the Olympic Javelin service from St Pancras to Stratford during the 2012 Games."

Passengers faced months of disruption as the work, which finished in May 2005, was carried out.

According to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), the "box" is large enough to accommodate a twin-platform station that will allow passengers direct access to the refurbished St Pancras International, which is scheduled to open in 2007.

Work on the station is being carried out by London Continental Railways - the company currently completing the second stage of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from north Kent into London.

London mayor Ken Livingstone said: "We are delighted the government has stepped in and agreed to fund these works, which are vital to improving rail services in London.

"Not only will it deliver a modern, expanded and accessible station, it is a critical piece of the jigsaw in delivering our Olympic transport plans."

Posted on 11:05 AM | Permalink

The Scotsman: 9th February 2006
JAMES KIRKUP

The spotter now leaving platform 1 - in handcuffs
THE Home Office has identified a much-maligned minority as a possible target for anti-terrorism laws - trainspotters.

Ministers have faced intense criticism over the use of stop-and-search powers against political protesters, including opponents of ID cards and a heckler at last year's Labour conference.

Now it appears people found in possession of anoraks and notepads in the vicinity of railway stations could be subjected to laws aimed at al-Qaeda.

In recent weeks, the UK's large railway enthusiast community has been gripped with tales of persecution by security forces. Spotters at Motherwell, Reading, Slough and Croydon stations are said to have been detained under the Terrorism Act.

As a result of those incidents, Mr Clarke has faced questions in parliament.

"While police do not target the use of anti-terrorist powers against rail enthusiasts, photographing trains and railway stations can be an indicator of possible hostile terrorist reconnaissance," Mr Clarke said.

He added: "Officers who encounter such activity may deem it appropriate to use stop-and-search powers."

Many spotters urge the British police to take a lead from the US, where spotters have semi-official recognition as a potential asset in the war on terrorism.

Posted on 11:01 AM | Permalink

ABC News: February 9, 2006

Queensland Rail (QR) maintenance workers have warned they will continue their industrial campaign despite resuming work today.

One thousand workers in Townsville, Rockhampton and Ispwich withdrew their labour twice in the past week, saying QR has reneged on a $6,000 bonus payment to skilled workers.

They were ordered back to work yesterday ahead of a meeting on Monday in the Queensland Industrial Commission.

Allan Heggarty from the Rail Tram and Bus Union says members are angry QR made the original offer of $6,000 but then reduced it to $2,000.

"They feel they've been ratted on and QR's reneged on what we believe was an agreement that was negotiated in good faith," he said.

"They've agreed to take further industrial action which our campaign committee is considering at the moment."

Posted on 10:15 AM | Permalink

The Guardian: February 8, 2006
Andrew Clark, transport correspondent

Upstart train entrepreneurs lobby for new routes to link long neglected towns with the capital.

They are passionate about the railways, rolling in money and have a wealth of expertise built up over decades at British Rail. Meet the old-style train entrepreneurs with an ambition to shake up the "complacent" privatised network.

Two upstart rail operators have shot to prominence in recent months with plans to establish new services on the inter-city network. Grand Central Trains wants to squeeze some extra trains on to the east coast mainline by running trains from Sunderland to London, calling at Hartlepool and Eaglescliffe, on the edge of Middlesbrough, which presently have no direct service to the capital.

It has provisional approval from the rail regulator and its founder is Ian Yeowart, a stalwart of pre-privatisation BR who once ran the ticket office at Penzance station. Mr Yeowart has been trying for almost a decade to get his show on the tracks, spending £1.5m. "The industry's become very insular about protecting itself. You can see the hostility we've faced," he says.

A second operator is hot on its heels. Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway wants to establish a direct link from north Wales to London. It is run by John Nelson, a former boss of BR's Network South East.

Both have come up with ideas outside the government's franchise map - the minimum core of prescribed services, which are set down by the Department for Transport and form almost the entirety of the existing rail map.

When the railways were sold off in 1996, so-called open access operators without a government franchise were viewed as a key element for introducing competition. But to date, just one has made it on to the tracks: Hull Trains, which is a proven success carrying 500,000 passengers a year.

Last month, Grand Central won provisional approval from the Office of the Rail Regulator and is expecting a final decision next week.

Obstacles have littered Grand Central's path. Mr Yeowart says the recently dissolved Strategic Rail Authority was among them: "The SRA was so tightly prescriptive: anything that didn't come out of their thinktank was viewed as unworkable. They said 'no' to everyone."

He wants to adopt a customer-friendly approach through a simple ticketing structure, with neither heavy discounts nor high walk-up prices. The most expensive return fares will be £60 from London to Sunderland or £55 to Hartlepool. Anyone forced to stand on board is promised a 50% refund.

An early-day motion backing Grand Central's plan has been signed by 24 MPs and towns on the route are enthusiastic. Stuart Drummond, the mayor of Hartlepool, said his town was woefully connected presently, with a typical journey to the capital taking two changes and more than four hours: "It's vital to the town; we haven't had a direct link to London for more than 30 years," he said.

Established train companies are not so happy. GNER says space on the east coast mainline should be used for extra services to Leeds, the booming hothouse of Yorkshire's economy. Freight operators are concerned about congestion "pinchpoints", which could upset their services. More seriously, the government is said to be worried that if GNER is unable to lay on extra services to Leeds, its promised £1.3bn handover of profits to the Treasury over the course of a decade could be jeopardised.

Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone's boss, John Nelson, was a founder of Hull Trains and has a track record of making rail ventures work. He suggests that GNER's commercial argument for simply filling up capacity with extra trains to Leeds is questionable.

"There are interesting questions about the nature of franchises - it's beginning to look as if this isn't a public interest thing they're doing," he says, pointing out that many rail operators are former bus companies. "I think there's a lack of entrepreneurship [in franchised operators]. There's a wealth of private-sector skills and experience but that's not what I'd call entrepreneurship."

His own proposed service would introduce trains from London to Shrewsbury in Shropshire - the only English county without a direct service to London - and to Wrexham, which has a population of 200,000 if outlying villages are included, and has lacked a service to London since the 1950s.

Mr Nelson reckons Britain could well see more entrepreneurial operators taking advantage. Lincoln and other towns in the region such as Grimsby have been arguing for a rail link to London for years. Then there are also "joining the dots" opportunities between cities outside the capital. "I think the government is missing a trick - there are large parts of the network which could benefit from new services."

Not everybody is convinced however. Christian Wolmar, a rail expert, says: "These people are tinkering about on the margins - Hull Trains runs six services a day. They represent about 0.01% of the national market. Open access is not the way to the future. It might open up a few opportunities for a few services but it's not going to change the railways."

The Office of the Rail Regulator, chaired by Chris Bolt, has to consider whether new operators will cannibalise subsidised services when he decides whether to grant companies access to the network. This is the main obstacle to the likes of Grand Central: it would almost certainly carry some passengers who would otherwise travel on GNER.

Mr Bolt also has a duty to "promote the development of the network to the greatest extent economically practicable". This, some argue, means opening up new routes. A final ruling on Grand Central's proposal is due from the regulator next week.

If Grand Central succeeds, it could be followed by others. Sunderland, for one, is cheering it on. Joe Lawson, a cabinet member for transport on Sunderland's city council, says: "We're the biggest city between Edinburgh and Leeds and we've been without a direct link to London for many, many years."

Posted on 09:47 AM | Permalink

The Hindu Business Line: Feb. 5
K.V. Kurmanath, Hyderabad

SENIOR leaders of the All India Railway Employees' Confederation (AIREC) have gathered here to discuss the issue of forming a morcha (united front) of all the railway unions on the lines of NCCRS (National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen's Struggle) that spearheaded the historic strike 30 years ago.

"Time is ripe for a struggle to solve several problems. Issues like privatisation, retrenchment, increased tilt towards contracting and surrender of posts (in Group C and D) are very serious. The present situation warrants a strike," Mr C.M. Singh, General Secretary of AIREC, said.

Ahead of the crucial meeting of the Central Working Committee of the confederation here on Sunday, Mr Singh told Business Line that it was very important to take up programmes to let people know about the issues confronting the railwaymen.

The confederation represents 4.30 lakh [1 lakh = 100,000; 4.3 lakh = 430,000] employees working in departmental organisations in the Railways.

He said the union strongly opposed surrendering of about 30,000 posts every year in Group C and D categories, while increasing 2,000 and 1,000 posts respectively in Group A and B.

He alleged that the increase was at the cost of the lower level posts.

"We demand that this should be stopped immediately. Surrendering thousands of posts would hamper the prospects of lakhs of unemployed youth," he said, pointing out that Railways was one of the largest employer in the country.

He said that vast numbers of railway employees were out of the JCM (joint consultative machinery).

On privatisation of airports, he said the union was strongly opposed to the move.

Posted on 09:32 AM | Permalink

UTU/BLET: January 31, 2006
 
CLEVELAND, Jan. 31 -- Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) President Don M. Hahs and United Transportation Union (UTU) President Paul C. Thompson issued the following outline describing joint concerns over railroad attempts to compromise public safety and security by reducing crew size on the nation's railroads.

Railroading is one of the most dangerous occupations in North America

-- Rail-related injuries typically result in amputations, other career-ending injuries and death.

-- Over the past three years, train collisions increased by more than 42 percent, according to tthe Federal Railroad Administration data

-- Also, over the past three years, employee fatalities are up by 17 percent.

-- For the period January-September 2005 (9 months), the FRA says there were more than 2,200 train accidents, some 1,200 yard accidents, 1,655 train derailments and 21 rail-employee fatalities.

-- Additionally, more than 350 private citizens die annually in accidents at highway-rail grade crossings.

-- This deterioration in safety statistics is NOT the result of more business on the rails, because the FRA "normalizes" these data based on millions of train miles.

-- Every major railroad -- BNSF, CSX, KCS, NS and UP -- has posted an increased in train accidents over past three years.

Railroads haul some of the most deadly of hazardous materials

-- Railroads haul deadly chemicals such as chlorine, nuclear weapons and nuclear waste -- all targets of terrorists and all deadly to large areas of every community through which these chemicals travel on trains.

-- Terrorists have targeted railroads in foreign countries (bombings in Madrid, Spain) and have threatened to do so in the United States. Having at least two people on the train enhances the number of eyes and ears on the front lines for the benefit of homeland security.

Positive Train Control may or may not be effective in improving rail safety

-- We don't know because PTC is in the experimental stage

-- PTC is operating under special waivers from the FRA over just a few hundred miles of track. There are more than 170,000 miles of rail track in the U.S.

-- Not only is PTC experimental, but there are thousands of miles of track in the United States today that are considered "dark territory," which is no more technologically advanced than railroad tracks were in the 1800s.

-- Where PTC is being tested, such as BNSF's Beardstown subdivision in Illinois, the technology's failure rate is significant. One third of tests of PTC there have resulted in an unintentional application of brakes indicating a system failure of some sort.

-- Carrier operating officers have told the National Transportation Safety Board that implementation of PTC on any wide-scale is seven to 10 years away. The costs are enormous -- some $7 billion -- and no railroad has indicated to its stockholders that it is embarking on such a capital expense in the near future. PTC remains an experimental technology.

Railroads want to reduce train crews without adding new technology

-- Railroads have told Wall Street analysts that they want to take advantage of a sudden and sharp increase in retirements by not hiring replacements for these train & engine service employees.

-- Railroads predict tens of millions of dollars in savings by not hiring and reducing crew size to one person, who would not have benefit of PTC and who would also be required to leave the train to operate remote control in switching operations and tend to unexpected mechanical problems.

The danger of reduced crews is primarily from fatigue

-- Noted sleep scientist William Dement of Stanford University compares going to work fatigued with going to work drunk, as fatigue impairs motor skills and judgment.

-- Fatigue already is a severe problem in the railroad industry. Insufficient train crews require railroads to demand employees work up to 30 days without rest periods. It is not uncommon for train & engine service employees not to receive even six hours of uninterrupted sleep daily.

-- Fatigue is most often cited by the National Transportation Safety Board as a contributing factor in railroad accidents.

One-person crews sought by the carriers are a prescription for disaster

-- Trains operating through populated areas and carrying deadly hazmat and considered a target of terrorists should not be permitted to operate with only a single person aboard.

-- Medical emergencies, the need for restroom breaks and meal periods all put trains, their contents and communities at risk when there is but a single person aboard to operate and monitor the train and remain in radio contact with dispatchers and nearby emergency responders.

-- Railroads transport deadly hazmat on tracks that are within blocks of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Train tracks are located in the heart of major population centers and trains carrying hazmat travel next to hospitals and schools.

A Federal Railroad Administration study of reduced crews is needed

-- Before Congress allows carriers to turn current labor negotiations into a congressional plebiscite on reduced-crew size, a Federal Railroad Administration study into the safety concerns of reduced crews is essential.

See also:

UTU, BLET join to fight crew reduction

Railway Age Magazine January 31, 2006
 
In a rare display of solidarity, the United Transportation Union and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen-two unions that have spent considerable time and resources conducting a war of words and turf-have decided to put aside their differences and join forces to combat what they say is a concerted effort by the railroads to reduce crew size in the current round of collective bargaining, according to this report published by railwayage.com.

At issue is the railroads' interest in operating freight trains with one-person crews, which they say will be possible with Positive Train Control, a technology now under evaluation independently at several carriers and also the subject of an industry-wide pilot project (the North American Joint PTC Program). The railroads want to place one-person train operations onto the collective bargaining table. The unions want the subject off the table, claiming railroad worker safety and public safety is at risk.

It is not clear just how many trains would be reduced to one-person operation, or how many of the Class I roster of 66,698 operating (Train & Engine Service) employees (according to the most recent STB figures) might be affected. At a joint UTU/BLET news conference this afternoon, responding to a question from Railway Age, UTU President Paul C. Thompson and BLET President Don M. Hahs said that they had received various and conflicting estimates from the railroads. One estimate, they said, indicated that up to 20% of operating employees would be affected, mainly through attrition. Another indicated that up to two-thirds of trains could eventually be operated by one person.

In a joint letter to their collective membership released prior to the news conference, Thompson and Hahs accused the Class I's of pursuing a negotiating strategy of "using past differences between [our unions] as a wedge to reduce crew size, thereby putting the lives of all rail workers and the public in danger and also seriously threatening the financial security of the Railroad Retirement system."

"This is no longer about our unions, it's about our members," Thompson said at the news conference. The railroads are currently operating trains with two-person crews. "If that's not an efficient crew, I don't know what is," he said. "Crew-size reduction has gone far enough," he added, recalling the days when trains ran with four- and five-person crews.

Thompson, who says he has participated in national negotiating sessions for more than 20 years, called the current round of collecting bargaining "the most deplorable I have ever seen." He said, and Hahs concurred, that the railroads have been privately and separately promising the UTU and the BLET that each would become the surviving union if, among other things, each would testify against the other during Presidential Emergency Board hearings. Thompson added that Bob Allen, lead negotiator for the National Carriers Conference Committee, "has been playing us like a banjo."

Thompson said that, although all five of the U.S.-based Class I's (UP, BNSF, NS, CSX, KCS) have been part of the negotiations, BNSF has been most aggressive in trying to play one union against the other. Railroads "have stonewalled us," and "have not resolved a single issue," he said. "They want an impasse, and a PEB" that might give them concessions they could not win in bargaining. Hahs added that, although he "doesn't blame the carriers for being hard-nosed during negotiations-that's just the way it is," the railroads, by their actions, have undermined any sense of trust that may have existed.

"The carriers' attempt to reduce crew size has nothing to do with new technology," Thompson and Hahs told their members. "Indeed, the carriers have told the National Transportation Safety Board that implementation of PTC is many years away. Moreover, the Federal Railroad Administration has not conducted a study into the safety and reliability of reduced crew size, nor its impact on an already highly fatigued workforce operating trains through congested areas carrying highly toxic hazmat during this era of heightened terrorist threats to the security of our nation's railroads."

During the press conference, Thompson and Hahs provided several examples of why a one-person crew would be unsafe and impractical:

-- If a train breaks down and blocks a crossing, one person cannot quickly cut the train in two to unblock the crossing if an emergency response vehicle (an ambulance or fire truck) needs to get through. This is a serious threat to public safety.

-- If an air hose breaks far back in the train, one person cannot not be expected to handle the situation in a timely fashion, and without compromising their own safety.

-- How does one person deal with a grade crossing collision?

-- The railroads have said that relief personnel would be available in the event of a breakdown or other incident, but there are many places where it would be extremely difficult to get extra people out to a stranded train.

-- Basic human needs: How does one person take a restroom break and run the train at the same time?

The railroads will have to "totally revamp" their operating practices for one-person crews, said Hahs. That means smaller crew districts and shorter in-service hours. Railroads cannot expect one person to be working twelve-hour shifts "day in and day out in an unscheduled environment," with only five and six hours of rest in between shifts. (The FRA mandates a minimum of eight hours of rest in between shifts, but the unions maintain that employees rarely get a full eight hours of rest, taking transit time, family time, and other factors into account.) As for PTC, Thompson noted that the technology is "experimental," and "proprietary" from supplier to supplier, and said that suppliers have made statements to the effect that PTC is intended as a safety overlay system, not a means to reduce crew size. He said that labor "needs to be a part of the development of PTC," and that operating employees "would embrace PTC if it does what the railroads say it does" with regard to improving safety of train operations. Both union leaders agreed that neither UTU nor BLET will sign any documents pledging to support PTC.

In what Thompson and Hahs are characterizing as "a demonstration of good faith," the UTU has withdrawn its application for a single-craft representation election at the Union Pacific, while the BLET has agreed to refrain from trying to organize UTU-represented properties. At this time, neither union is in a position to negotiate jointly, but are pursuing a joint strategy to deal with the one-person-crew issue.

"Our two organizations have had their differences, but when it comes to protecting our members' job security and safety, we must stand together against the hostile attacks of the carriers' expressed intent on eliminating jobs," said Thompson and Hahs. The two unions say their joint effort has the support of the Teamsters, AFL-CIO, and other railroad unions. One part of their strategy will be lobbying a Congress that, in an election year, may be reluctant to deal with a railroad work stoppage and a Presidential Emergency Board. Both unions, they said, have received "letters of great concern" from Congressmen who feel a PEB at this point in time would be "premature."

Posted on 09:17 AM | Permalink

The Guardian: February 8, 2006
Andrew Clark, transport correspondent

104,342 rail services failed to run last year Technical faults and staff shortages take most blame.

A train is cancelled every five minutes on Britain's railways according to a detailed analysis from the government which reveals the full extent of strikes, staff shortages, breakdowns and track failures.

There were 104,342 services cancelled in 2005 - equivalent to scrapping the entire national timetable for more than five days. The most common reasons were technical faults on trains, which accounted for 29% of cancellations, and staff shortages, which were blamed for 11%.

The figures were branded unacceptable by the Conservatives, who uncovered them from the rail minister, Derek Twigg, through a parliamentary question. The shadow transport secretary, Chris Grayling, said: "It's not really good enough. This amplifies my big concern that taxpayers are spending at least three times as much on the railways as they were five years ago and yet punctuality is still not as good as it was six years ago.

"There comes a point at which you have to ask where the money is going. Why are we not seeing the level of improvement we should be seeing?" The worst performer was Central Trains, which operates local services across the Midlands and was responsible for 16,351 cancellations. A Central Trains spokesman said track and signal problems caused by Network Rail were to blame for a third of its non-running trains. Industrial action by drivers and guards was responsible for another large chunk; members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union walked out in a dispute over Sunday working.

"It's obviously not where we'd like to be," the spokesman said. "But that figure has got a lot better since we changed our timetable in December."

Other big culprits were Northern Trains, which cancelled 12,884 services, and Arriva Trains Wales, where 10,898 trains failed to run. The commuter network around London fared better, with 4,647 trains cancelled by South West Trains and 6,055 cancelled by Southern Trains. On inter-city lines, GNER cancelled 621 trains, Virgin West Coast 2,269 and First Great Western 643. The tiny Island Line on the Isle of Wight got through the year with only 63 cancellations - of which 17 were down to weather problems described as "acts of God".

A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said relatively minor problems often caused lengthy knock-on logistical disruption. A suicide on the track in Morpeth, Northumberland, this week had caused hours of difficulties as the brief closure of a line left rolling stock in the wrong place.

The association described the breakdown of cancellations as "a cheap shot". Its spokesman said: "We are one of the busiest networks in Europe. Train operators don't go out of their way to cancel trains - they are only cancelled for very, very good operational reasons."

The government spends £87m a week on the railways. Following a low point in the wake of the Hatfield train crash, the reliability of Britain's railways has been creeping up over the past few years and now stands at 83%. A national survey last autumn showed public satisfaction with punctuality at 77%, up six percentage points in a year.

But the consumer group Passenger Focus said performance was still below the standard that travellers deserve.

Posted on 01:14 AM | Permalink

RMT Wessex Trains Company Council: Feb 2006

The latest RMT Newsletter for members employed by Wessex Trains is out now. Read it below, or click here WXCCNewsletter_feb2006.pub (223k file) to download a formatted version.

RMT South-West Region, Transport House, Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6AY
Tel. 0117 925 5018 Fax: 0117 925 5019

CARRIED OVER LEAVE?

USE IT NOW!

Sectional Council Reps have sought a guarantee from Wessex Trains that leave carried over from 2005 will be honoured after March 31st.

Wessex will not give that guarantee, and say that all carried over leave must be used by 31st March. Neither will they agree to buy back any leave carried over�even when this is through no fault of the employee.

Management are technically correct in saying that all leave must be used up in the same year�carried over leave has always been by local arrangement. However, in many cases, leave has been continually declined because of lack of cover, so leave has accumulated because of staff shortages.

At this stage, we advise all RMT members to book all of their carried over leave, between now and 31st March 2006.

If any of this leave is declined, you should take out an immediate grievance. Your local RMT representative will advise you. DON�T DELAY.

You will need to keep a record of declined leave applications to support your grievance.

This is a mean attempt to save money,because it takes no account of the many staff who have accepted declined leave in order to keep stations open and trains running during staff sickness and shortages. We�ll work to ensure that everyone gets the leave they are entitled to, so please help by sorting out your entitlement and booking that leave right away. Contact your local rep. if you have any problems

VIOLENT ASSAULTS ON RAIL STAFF

Attacks on rail staff are increasing�not unconnected with fares increases; declining services and an increase in lone working.

What doesn�t seem to be increasing is our employer�s ability to protect vulnerable staff and to support them afterwards.

Wessex have a written policy that says �zero tolerance� to passengers who abuse and assault, and that they will always consider prosecution. Why then do staff so often report feeling isolated and abandoned after going through the trauma of such situations while carrying out their duties? Why do our members find themselves undergoing the humiliation of police interviews, facing accusations against them, and finding that the company has done little to investigate their own complaints of assault?

We are asking the Assaults Working Group for a thorough examination and tightening of the policies and procedures surrounding these incidents. We want better training, and clearer guidelines to staff and managers about what to do in the case of assault, whether physical or verbal, minor or major. We want staff who report assaults given immediate access to support and counselling�not, as happened recently, suspended and handed over to the police for questioning.

In the meantime, there are still staff with a misguided sense of duty who are putting themselves in vulnerable positions. Station staff, for example, are not responsible for revenue protection. Don�t chase fare-dodgers: leave them to people who are trained and paid to do the job. Some of them are pretty desperate and unpleasant people. You are not paid enough to take this sort of risk. We�ve asked Wessex to issue a similar instruction, in order to clarify this role. We are still waiting.

RMT representatives on the Assaults Working Group are:
Andy Pike ( Station Staff) - Andy works at Weston station, you can contact him on Internal 46125, or email at Andy.Pike@wessextrains.co.uk

Brian Willey ( Guards) Contact him on 0793 1825818

Contact either of these if you want them to raise any matters with the AWG
************

RUMOURS ARE BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH

Rumours are flying around about what is to happen after March 31st, and everyone is feeling worried and insecure. We�ve been told there are no immediate plans to reduce front-line staff. But �told� isn�t good enough�we seek written guarantees. We�ve seen fancy diagrams showing the future management structure - we�ve seen all that sort of thing before, of course. It doesn�t tell us much about what sort of service we�ll be running, or how staff will be treated. We are, of course, determined to get harmonisation of terms and conditions, and to fight against compulsory redundancies among our members. We�ll just have to wait and see what happens on April 1st. April Fools� Day?

The RMT has concentrated on building 100% membership; getting commitment from all employers to maintain existing conditions; and building up a strong bargaining unit across the 3 companies concerned, in order to protect your interests after 31st March.

All this insecurity and uncertainty is bad for passengers as well as workers. This is why we continue to campaign for renationalisation of the railways.

TRAVEL PRIVILEGES

We are also seeking clarification over the use of travel privileges after 31st March. Will passes issued by Wessex Trains remain valid until their expiry in June 2006? How & when will Wessex privileges transfer to First Group? We�ll let you know as soon as we get the answers

Attend your RMT branch meeting for further details, or contact:
RMT South West Regional Office, 0117 9255 018
RMT Sectional Council Secretary, Glen Burrows 01278 450562
************

CHIP & PIN PAYMENT

The Station Staff pay deal last year included acceptance of Chip & Pin technology, as long as it was properly introduced and training given. It wasn�t! Retail staff were dumped on again without warning and instruction. This was also at a time when staff were struggling with Tribute and the lunacy of the reservations system over Christmas. Station Staff Sectional Council therefore asked a for a compensatory payment, considering Wessex hadn�t kept to the agreement. This was refused�on the grounds that this would mean having to pay guards as well!

Imagine our surprise then when we learned that a �170 one-off payment had been offered to guards, and later to ATEs as part of this year�s pay settlement after guards� restructuring broke down!

***************

STATION STAFF ANNUAL LEAVE

There has been confusion over whether Bank Holiday leave is now included with Annual Leave for station staff. It isn�t! The problem arose because a local manager said they were classed together after the 2004-5 Pay Deal.

This is not the case. The Station Staff deal retained existing conditions�which means we continue to get Time Off in Lieu and Bank Holiday premiums.

***********

Posted on 01:54 PM | Permalink

RMT: February 6 2006

AROUND 5,000 more RMT members on London Underground are to be balloted for strike action in an escalation of a dispute over the company's failure to resolve a wide range of industrial-relations issues.

RMT is already balloting its 1,500 Tube driver members, alongside sister union Aslef, over issues that include policy on signals passed at danger (Spads), health and safety, bargaining arrangements, harassment, discipline, denial of representation rights and imposition of excessive punishments.

"London Underground management's attempts to impose rather than negotiate have undermined industrial relations right across the company," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"The issues affecting train operators remain to be resolved, and the RMT executive has now agreed to ballot all other Tube members over LUL's attempts to impose, without negotiation, changes in attendance, disciplinary and harassment procedures.

"For all its fine talk about industrial relations, LUL is ignoring its own procedures and trying to impose changes and bypass its established negotiating machinery.

"After months of trying to stop these attacks it has become clear that the only path left open to us is to ballot our entire Tube membership for industrial action, and we have given London Underground notice to that effect," Bob Crow said.

ends

Note to editors: The drivers' ballot will close this Thursday (February 9), and the ballot of all other grades will close on February 23.

Posted on 01:44 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 6 February 2006

Thousands more Tube workers are to be balloted on strikes in a continuing row over industrial relations.
A total of 1,500 train drivers have already voted on the issue with the result due on Thursday.

A further 5,000 workers, including signallers and station staff, will now be joining the vote, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) said.

London Underground (LU) said: "There is no more justification for this ballot than the last one".

"Playground tactics"

Mike Baker, of LU, said the company was committed to consultation with its employees and trade unions "using our agreed procedures".

The RMT claims LU has undermined industrial relations "right across the company".

But Roger Evans, chairman of the London Assembly Transport Committee, said a strike would be unnecessary and "totally out of order".

He said the unions were "resorting to bullying tactics to achieve their goals" and called for them to stop.

'Ignoring procedures'

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said that the issues affecting train operators still had to be resolved.

Train drivers belonging to the RMT and Aslef unions have been voting over issues including policy on signals passed at danger, health and safety, harassment and discipline.

Mr Crow said the RMT executive had now agreed to ballot all other Tube members.

He said that LU was "ignoring its own procedures and trying to impose changes and bypass its established negotiating machinery".

Posted on 01:42 PM | Permalink

Reuters: Feb 6, 2006

LONDON - Thousands of London Underground workers are to be balloted for strike action over a wide range of industrial issues, the RMT union said on Monday, in an escalation of a long-running dispute.

The RMT is already balloting its 1,500 Tube driver members and said on Monday it would ballot around 5,000 other members.

"London Underground management's (LUL) attempts to impose rather than negotiate have undermined industrial relations right across the company," RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said in a statement.

"The RMT executive has now agreed to ballot all other Tube members over LUL's attempts to impose, without negotiation, changes in attendance, disciplinary and harassment procedures.

"After months of trying to stop these attacks, it has become clear that the only path left open to us is to ballot our entire Tube membership for industrial action, and we have given London Underground notice to that effect," Crow said.

Another rail union, Aslef, is also currently balloting its members over whether to strike.

London Underground's Chief Operating Officer Mike Brown condemned RMT's latest decision.

"We seek to be fair in all matters with our employees," he said in a statement.

"If any employee or union has a genuine grievance ... the only way to resolve the matter is through discussions, using procedures agreed by unions and management.

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

Results from the RMT ballot of the 1,500 drivers will be announced on Thursday and those of the larger ballot will be announced on February 23.

Posted on 01:38 PM | Permalink

The Slovak Spectator: 2/6/2006

THE BIDS received for the 100 percent stake on offer in railway company Cargo Slovakia did not meet expectations, the daily newspaper Hospodrske noviny reports. Uncertainty about fees that the firm may have to pay in future for using railway routes was one of the reasons for the low offers.

Transport Minister Pavol Prokopoviè originally estimated that the state could get Sk15 billion to Sk20 billion (€390 million to €530 million) for its Cargo Slovakia stake. However, the highest bid submitted was that of Rail Cargo Austria along with J&T, who offered Sk13.1 billion (€340 million). The consortium of Rail World, MID Europa Partners and Penta offered Sk12.4 billion (€330 million), while the consortium of MÁV and Slavia Capital offered Sk7.6 billion (€200 million).

The sums were published in the online version of the Trend business magazine.

A second round could be held in the privatization tender for the cargo transporter, as in the case of the recent privatization of Bratislava and Kosˇice airports. "This is one of the possibilities, but we don't want to comment because we don't have a statement from the privatisation committee," said Transport Ministry spokesman Tomásˇ Sˇarlusˇka for Hospodárske noviny.

The investors would apparently have been willing to pay the sum expected by the Transport Ministry if the state had lowered the fees for use of the railway routes. The fees charged in Slovakia are the highest in the European Union.

"We agreed that the price will not change this year and that the privatisation advisor will work out a formula for calculating the prices for 2007," Sˇarlusˇka said.

Posted on 01:35 PM | Permalink

The Sunday Times: February 05, 2006
Dominic O'Connell and Mark Kleinman

E&Y to control vast railway station facelift
NETWORK RAIL has recruited Ernst & Young Accountants to run a multi-billion pound redevelopment of its largest stations, starting with London?s Euston and Victoria.

The government-backed rail group, owner and operator of Britain's rail network and its major stations, appointed E&Y on Friday. The contract had been hotly contested by two of the accountancy group's rivals, KPMG and Price Waterhouse Coopers. Insiders said that the project would involve redevelopment work potentially worth several billion pounds.

E&Y will have the job of encouraging private investment in stations in the next decade. Programmes will follow the example of Broadgate, the City office complex built above the tracks leading into Liverpool Street station.

Network Rail has already begun the development of two other London terminals, Paddington and King's Cross. Euston and Victoria are next, with the former having already attracted 13 expressions of interest from development companies. The two have seen little development in 40 years. Euston is used by 50m passengers a year, and Victoria by 115m.

The 15 acres at Euston means the footprint of the eventual development will rival the size of Canary Wharf. But the need to maintain protected views from Primrose Hill to St Paul's Cathedral means that the buildings will be about 4.3m sq ft in size, compared with Canary Wharf's existing estate of some 6m sq ft.

At Victoria station, a development of just under 1m sq ft is envisaged.

The list of developers vying for a role in the programme is a roll-call of the great and good in British property. Stanhope has expressed its interest, as has Elliott Bernerd's Chelsfield, along with Sir John Ritblat's British Land and Delancey, his son Jamie's property group.

After Euston and Victoria, Network Rail and E&Y are expected later this year to put out tenders for the redevelopment of Waterloo.

The winning developers are expected to set up joint ventures into which Network Rail will inject its property assets. A similar programme of development is planned for 50 large regional hubs, and some of Britain's smaller stations.

Last week the Commons public accounts select committee issued a report condemning the state of Britain's dilapidated railway stations.

"Far too many small and medium-sized stations are threatening places, with poorly lit, graffiti-covered passages and platforms, vandalised facilities and no staff on hand. A third of the larger stations in England and Wales have no waiting rooms and there are no lavatories at some 15%," said Edward Leigh MP, the committee's chairman.

The report said the structure of the industry since privatisation in 1996 had given little incentive to train companies to improve facilities, and that stations had suffered because different industry bodies were at loggerheads.

Network Rail is a not-for-profit company that replaced Railtrack after it collapsed into administration in 2001. It has raised finance for railway investment through a series of long-dated bond issues, with its borrowings ultimately guaranteed by the government. Work has recently begun on Network Rail's financing for the five-year period from April 2009.

Rail experts predict that a likely cut in government funding will mean the closure of some branch lines and loss-making routes.

Posted on 01:10 PM | Permalink

RMT: February 3 2006

ON THE eve of the tenth anniversary of the first privatised train services, Britain's biggest rail union has called for an end to "a ten-year experiment that has failed by any and every measure".

"Privatisation has failed commuters, it has failed railway workers and it has failed the economy and the environment," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"The Tories promised us cheaper and more efficient railways, but they shattered our network into pieces and gave us the opposite.

"The private sector gets more than three times the subsidy that British Rail got, yet punctuality is still below even the levels set by BR a decade ago.

"Commuters were promised they would win from competition, yet fares have risen by 24 per cent since privatisation and Britain's fares are just about the biggest rip-off in Europe.

"Taxpayers, passengers and railway workers are being mugged daily by privateers who have siphoned cash out of the railways at the rate of at least £800 million a year.

"Our economy and environment are crying out for a growing railway and a policy that encourages people out of cars and onto trains, but the present set-up is delivering the opposite and our rail network is under threat of closures as never before.

"Worst of all, the railways' safety culture has been relegated to second place behind the interests of shareholders.

"In public hands South Eastern Trains has shown that it can deliver better services with £1 million a month less subsidy, while Network Rail's maintenance is safer and more efficient since being brought back in-house - they should provide the blueprint for the future.

"Far from costing the earth, public ownership will deliver a rail rebate of at least £500 million a year, and the time has come to draw a line under a disastrous experiment that has failed by any and every measure," Bob Crow said.
ends

Notes to editors: Privatised rail services operated by First Great Western and South West Trains commenced on February 4, 1996

Early Day motion 1561, Tenth anniversary of rail privatisation

"That this House notes 4th February marks the 10th anniversary of private rail passenger franchises coming onto the railways under the disastrous Tory privatisation; is concerned that since that time rail fares have increased in real terms and punctuality remains worse than under public ownership; further notes the Catalyst think tank report showing that the private sector has drained over £6 billion from the public sector since privatisation; welcomes the conclusion of the Catalyst report that renationalising the rail network would save £500 million a year; and therefore urges the Government to take early steps to implement Labour Party policy of an integrated, accountable and publicly owned railway"

Signed (as of February 3 2006): John McDonnell, Michael Meacher, Kelvin Hopkins, Michael Clapham, Gwyn Prosser, David Drew, Jeremy Corbyn, Robert Wareing, Ian Gibson, Katy Clark, Linda Riordan

Posted on 09:03 AM | Permalink

Independent Online: 04 February 2006
By Barrie Clement, Transport Editor

The ferry involved in the Red Sea sinking was the sister ship of the ill-fated Herald of Free Enterprise, which sank in 1987 off the coast of Belgium with the loss of nearly 200 lives.

The Al-Salaam '98 was officially regarded as too unsafe to operate in European waters.

Originally called the Free Enterpise IV and one of eight similar vessels operated by Townsend Thoresen, it had been "pensioned off to the Third World".

Another sister ship of the Herald, the Al-Salaam '95, sank in the Red Sea in October after a collision with a Cypriot commercial vessel. A 16ft-wide hole resulted in the ship sinking within three-and-a-half minutes. In that case almost all of the passengers were rescued.

Andrew Linington of Numast, the British ships' officers union, said that, under European regulations introduced after the Herald of Free Enterprise sinking it would be illegal to operate either vessel in Europe. "This is a scandal. Passenger ships like it are not permitted to sail in European waters. If a ship is unsafe, it is unsafe wherever it operates."

The rules introduced in the late 1990s ensured that "roll-on, roll-off" ferries were redesigned. Stability was increased so that an initial ingress of water was not necessarily catastrophic.

Mr Linington said that, in developing countries, an average of 1,000 people a year had lost their lives in ferry sinkings over the past decade, largely because legislation was not as stringent.

"It's a roll-on, roll-off ferry and there is a big question mark over the stability of this kind of ship," said David Osler of the London shipping paper Lloyd's List. "It would only take a bit of water to get on board this ship and it would be all over ... The percentage of this type of ferry involved in this type of diasaster is huge."

Mr Osler said there was no indication that terrorism was the cause. "Bad weather is looking likely," he said, although Mr Linington pointed out that the vessel should be able to survive most sea conditions.

The Saint Catherine, another ferry travelling the same route overnight in the opposite direction, received a distress message in which the ferry captain said his ship was in danger of sinking. The agency did not say how the Saint Catherine reacted.

Mr Osler said a collision or a leak could be among the reasons for water to enter the vessel, which measures 118m (387ft) long by 23.6m (77ft) wide.

He said: "It only takes a relatively small ingress of water to set up a sort of rocking effect that gains momentum and tilts the ship. If water got on for any reason that is the sort of thing that could happen."
A structural survey last year had found there was "nothing significant to report," the company said. The ship had a stability refit in October 2003.

Mr Osler said the roll-on, roll-off type of ships were still in use in some places, but since 1987, stability had been "massively" increased. "This vessel predates all that and has been pensioned off to the Third World," he said. It had previously served as an Italian vessel from 1970 to 1999.

The company's owner, Mamdouh Ismail, said the ship was more than 25 years old and registered in Panama. It had received a safety management certificate from an Italian organisation in October 2005, covering safety drills and other on-board procedures.

The ship disappeared from radar screens shortly after sailing from the western Saudi port of Duba at 7pm local time on Thursday night. It was due to have arrived at Safaga at 3am.

Coastal stations received no Mayday message from the crew, said Adel Shukri, of el-Salam Maritime Navigation. The weather had been very poor overnight on the Saudi side of the Red Sea, he said. But visibility should have been good out at sea, he added.

Shipping disasters

* 2002: Joola, Senegal:
Almost 2,000 people died when the overcrowded Joola sank in a storm as it was sailing to Dakar.

* 1996: Bukoba, Tanzania:
The Tanzanian ferry Bukoba capsised on Lake Victoria, killing more than 800 people, many trapped in their cabins.

* 1994: Estonia, Estonia:
852 people drowned when the 15,000-tonEstonia ferry sank almost 20 miles from the Finnish island of Utoe.

* 1987: Dona Paz, Philippines: 4,375 people died when the Dona Paz passenger ferry sank after colliding with an oil tanker.

* 1987: M/S Herald of Free Enterprise, Zeebrugge, Belgium: The Herald of Free Enterprise ferry sank, killing 193 of the 539 people onboard.

* 1954: Toya Maru, Japan:
1,172 people died when the freightliner Toya Maru sank during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu.

* 1948: Kiangya, China:
The Kiangya steamship struck a mine and exploded on Huangpo Jiang, killing an estimated 3,920 people.

* 1912: Titanic, UK:
TheTitanic superliner struck an iceberg and sank, resulting in the deaths of 1,496 people.

Posted on 08:59 AM | Permalink

The Guardian: February 2, 2006
Letter from Bob Crow

The Guardian report (Carbon emission targets delayed, January 31) highlights that carbon emissions from transport are likely to have risen by 16% in the two decades to 2010.

Even excluding aviation, transport accounts for nearly a quarter of total UK emissions. It is clear that rail is less polluting than cars, lorries or air travel. Passenger for passenger, the government accepts that a journey by car between London and Edinburgh will produce six times the CO2 emissions generated by rail, while the same journey by air is eight times more polluting than by train.

The government's stated aims are to increase rail use and protect the environment, so it is baffling that the Department for Transport has published draft procedures for closures and "modification" of the rail network that many fear will make it easier to close railway stations and lines and to replace trains with buses.

At the same time the deputy prime minister's sustainable communities plan envisages 200,000 new homes in the south-east where roads are already heavily congested, yet there are no plans to expand capacity on existing inadequate or overcrowded rail services. We now need more evidence of joined-up thinking if transport is to play its role in reducing carbon emissions.

Bob Crow
General secretary, RMT

Posted on 08:59 AM | Permalink

The Guardian: February 2, 2006
Associated Press in Tokyo

After tight timetables and speeding were blamed for a derailment in Japan last year that killed 107 people, a train firm declared yesterday it would slow down and add 21 seconds to its average rush-hour journey time.

"The change may sound insignificant but it means a lot for train drivers used to operating by the second," said West Japan Railway Company's spokesman, Norio Kitamura. Initially, after the accident last April, the rail firm stretched by a minute the 12-mile journey between two stations, Takarazuka and Amagasaki. The change next month will affect all of the firm's lines.

Posted on 08:54 AM | Permalink

The Guardian: February 2, 2006
Andrew Clark, transport correspondent

Britain's train stations have deteriorated into dirty, dangerous, poorly staffed environments because nobody in the privatised rail industry can agree who is responsible for their upkeep, according to a highly critical report by MPs.

Members of the Public Accounts Committee will today attack the "deplorable" state of the 2,507 stations on the national network, describing many of them as vandalised, poorly lit, threatening places with graffiti-covered passages and few staff.

They blame a fragmented approach by train operators, Network Rail and the government - which all have subtly different responsibilities for station investment. Their suggested solutions include seeking local volunteers and rail enthusiasts to refurbish waiting rooms.

Staffing levels come in for particular criticism. Just 38% of passengers say they feel safe on small, unmanned stations - a problem highlighted by the murder of lawyer Thomas ap Rhys Pryce near Kensal Green station two weeks ago.

Edward Leigh, the Conservative chairman of the committee, said franchises were vague about the level of staffing and maintenance required from local train operators who look after smaller stops.

"Since privatisation private sector investment in stations has been discouraged by the sheer number of bodies involved, all at loggerheads about who is responsible for what," said Mr Leigh.

Since Mr Rhys Pryce's death the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has called for all of the capital's stations to be manned until closing time. The MPs raise questions about the condition of stations elsewhere - including a "disgusting" waiting room at Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, and "filthy, disgraceful" facilities at Yorkshire stops such as South Anston.

Network Rail owns most of Britain's stations but it only operates 17 of the largest urban terminuses. The rest are leased to local train operators - but their franchises offer little incentive for long-term investment to improve facilities.

Anthony Smith, national director of the consultative body Passenger Focus, said: "We've got to cut through the contractual knot ... it's so complicated that nothing gets done."

The recently dissolved Strategic Rail Authority adopted a light touch towards regulation. In the 10 months to March 2005 it issued just 17 notices requiring action for minor infringements such as inadequate information, understaffing and a lack of maintenance. Among the larger stations on the network, a third have no waiting rooms and 15% have no toilets.

Posted on 08:46 AM | Permalink

Independent Online: 2 February 2006
By Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor

The deplorable state of some of Britain's 2,507 railway stations is savagely criticised today in a report by a cross-party committee of MPs.

Stations are often threatening places, with poorly lit, graffiti-covered passages and platforms, vandalised facilities and no staff, said Edward Leigh, Tory chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

The MPs found one- third of the stations, many built in Victorian times, had no waiting-rooms and 15 per cent no lavatories. Few train operating companies (TOCs) had joined national schemes to reduce crime and improve personal safety at stations in spite of findings that this would increase passenger numbers by up to 11 per cent. "Passenger needs at stations have taken second place for the Strategic Rail Authority and the rail industry," Mr Leigh said. "A large number of Britain's railway stations are a poor advertisement for our country."

The condition of stations varies widely, from graffiti-strewn ones such as Market Rasen, in Mr Leigh's constituency of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, to bucolic stops such as Pewsey, Wiltshire, where the passengers can read Horse and Hound and Country Life, laid out on a polished table in the waiting-room.

The presence of staff, good lighting and CCTV surveillance at stations were the three most important factors reassuring passengers about their personal safety, but few train operating companies had joined the secure station scheme or the Home Office's safer parking scheme.

The Department of Transport is analysing figures to identify the 100 station car-parks with the highest crime levels. It plans to negotiate improvements by the TOCs and Network Rail to meet the standards of the safer parking award scheme.

Network Rail, which took over from the abolished Strategic Rail Authority, owns most stations and is responsible for most maintenance, but the legacy of the chaotic privatisation of the railways was also to blame, said the MPs. "The original franchises awarded on privatisation of the railways failed to put sufficient emphasis on improving station facilities."

The report calls for the Government to establish a league table, with points awarded to the stations according to their quality, and secret checks by consumer survey teams. The National Audit Office, the public spending watchdog, had published a damning report on the stations, saying the SRA had planned to spend £225m on 980 stations, but slashed the programme to only £25m at 68 stations to match funding from the Department of Transport.

Many stations in England and Wales are more than 100 years old and 15 per cent are listed. But they have been allowed to deteriorate. On average, 90,000 passengers a day use each of the 28 largest stations but just 100 a day use each of the 1,200 smallest, unstaffed ones. And 2,490 stations are leased to 22 train operating companies, making the question of who to blame more confusing.

Posted on 12:48 AM | Permalink

Crewe Chronicle: Feb 1 2006
By Ben Jervis

A SOCIAL club which has remained a favourite drinking spot for hundreds of former rail workers is closing next month.

The Railway Veterans Institute in Prince Albert Street at Crewe, which opened in 1917, has been sold off by owner Bombardier.

The building was owned by the British Railways Property Board and leased to Adtranz at Crewe Works. It was then brought by Bombardier, which now runs the works, in 2001.

Now it is being sold off because of falling membership numbers, high leasing costs and proposed redundancies at the Works.

Bombardier spokeswoman Heidi Lee said: 'A decision was made to close the club on March 25 in conjunction with the club secretary.

'We have agreed with the Dutton Institute next door to transfer our regular members' memberships to their club which we will pay for as well as give them an extra snooker table.

'The closure is due to the high costs of leasing the building and looming job cuts in Crewe. It doesn't make sense to pay for something which has been under-used.'

Borough councillor Chris Thorley, a former railway worker, has backed previous campaigns to keep the club open.

He said: 'I am very concerned about the Vets and the current situation.

'It has been a very big part of the railway community and many railway veterans have enjoyed themselves in there over the years.

'This situation is very much the result of privatisation of British Rail plus the club being sold to a private owner.

Crewe historian Howard Curran added: 'These type of buildings were sold off to anyone who wanted to buy them when British Rail was privatised.

'People who brought them were under the impression that the land is ready for development but in most cases it is not.'

Posted on 12:42 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 2 February 2006

A large number of Britain's railway stations are a "poor advertisement for this country", according to an influential group of MPs. The MPs say many stations have no staff on hand.

Far too many small and medium-sized stations are "threatening, poorly-lit" places with vandalised facilities.

The Public Accounts Committee says there is a "stark contrast" between modern trains and the "deplorable state" of the stations they serve.

The Department for Transport says £87m is invested in the network every week.

'No toilets'

But MPs on the PAC said private sector investment in stations had been discouraged by the "sheer number of bodies involved, all at loggerheads about who is responsible for what".

The committee called on the Department for Transport to investigate whether new standards for stations could be added to existing franchise deals.

"Passenger needs at stations have taken second place for the Strategic Rail Authority and the railway industry" - Edward Leigh, Chairman, Public Accounts Committee

The committee's chairman, Tory MP Edward Leigh, said: "Far too many small and medium-sized stations are threatening places, with poorly-lit, graffiti-covered passages and platforms, vandalised facilities and no staff on hand.

"As it is, a large number of Britain's railway stations are a poor advertisement for our country."

The committee found that one-third of larger stations in England and Wales had no waiting rooms, and there were no toilets at about 15%.

More than half of Britain's stations were not fully accessible to parents with young children or the disabled.

Too few train operating companies have joined national crime reduction schemes despite studies suggesting they can increase passenger numbers by up to 11%.

'Complicated procedures'

Members discovered that the numbers of bodies involved in improving and maintaining stations had led to a fragmented approach, lacking strategic focus and overall leadership.

They also said Network Rail was a barrier to improvement because of inflexible and unduly complicated procedures.

"The company will continue to work with train operators, the government and other funding partners to improve the standards and facilities at railway stations" - Spokesman, Network Rail

There are 2,507 railway stations across the UK and about 90,000 passengers use each of the 28 largest each day.

Most of the stations are owned by Network Rail, which is responsible for their structural repair and renewal.

The company operates 17 of the largest stations and leases out 2,490 stations to 22 train operating companies.

"Passenger needs at stations have taken second place for the Strategic Rail Authority and the railway industry," said Mr Leigh.

"The original franchises gave little incentive to the train operating companies to modernise stations."

Cleanliness

However, a Network Rail spokesman said over the past five years £400m had been invested in its 17 major stations.

Work was under way to ease collaboration between organisations and to add in up to £4bn of investment from property developers.

"The company will continue to work with train operators, the government and other funding partners to improve the standards and facilities at railway stations," the spokesman said.

A Department for Transport spokeswoman admitted "there is room for further improvement" despite a National Passenger Survey recording improvements in satisfaction with the cleanliness, facilities and services at stations.

"We will continue to work closely with the rail industry to deliver a cleaner and more pleasant travelling environment for passengers," she said.

Shadow transport secretary Chris Grayling said it was "worrying" that, at a time when the government was spending five times as much on railways as it was five years ago, "there seems to be so little happening to improve the situation".

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Tom Brake said: "Britain's travelling public deserve to be able to wait for their trains in safety and comfort."

Posted on 12:20 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 1 February 2006

Passengers could be catching direct trains between Wrexham and Marylebone station in London if plans announced by a new rail company go ahead.

The newly formed Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway Company (WSMR) plans to run five trains a day between north-east Wales and London from 2007.

The company said the journey time would be cut to three hours 15 minutes.

Travellers currently have to change trains in Chester, Crewe or Birmingham for a train into London Euston.

The planned service would stop in Ruabon, Chirk and Gobowen as well as Shrewsbury, Telford, Cosford and Wolverhampton.

A spokesperson for WSMR said the company had negotiating with Network Rail for some time and expected to sign an access agreement over the proposed route.

The company is a joint venture formed by Renaissance Trains Ltd and Laing Rail.

Renaissance currently operates Hull Trains and Laing has the Chiltern Railways franchise.

Posted on 07:45 AM | Permalink

New Vision: 1st February, 2006
By David Muwanga

THE World Bank's board has approved a $60m (about sh109.2b) grant to Uganda and Kenya for concessioning of the railways.

"The International Development Association (IDA) Partial Risk Guarantees (PRG) of $45m (sh81.9b) and $15m (sh27.3b) respectively were approved in support of the railways' concession in Kenya and Uganda. It is being concessioned to the Kenyan and Ugandan subsidiaries of Rift Valley Railways Holdings, whose lead investor is a South African company," a statement issued by the bank said recently.

"This will be IDA's first time to provide PRGs for a transport project," the statement said.

The project is among the first ones in which several instruments of the World Bank like IDA credits, IDA PRGs and International Finance Corporation's (IFC) advisory services have been utilised in a complementary manner.

The statement said IFC's infrastructure department would also consider debt financing for the investment programme of the concessionaire for development of the railways.

Meanwhile, the Government needs $350m (about sh637b) to extend the railway line to southern Sudan and the DR Congo, a report from the Presidential Investors Round Table committee on infrastructure has said.

Also required is $50m (sh91b) for rehabilitation and upgrading of the 333km Kampala-Kasese line.

"One obstacle to promotion of investment is insufficient coverage of the railway network, yet it is a requirement for the Government to extend the line to the new markets," the report, which was released at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel said.

Posted on 07:38 AM | Permalink