National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers (RMT)

Rail for All: 19-03-09

Symposium on a social railway on Saturday, 16/05/2009 with opening events on the evening of Friday, 15/05/2009 in Düsseldorf and Cologne organised by the German coalition against railway privatisation "Bahn für Alle", the German Green Party (North Rhine-Westphalia) and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), Britain

In the search for answers to the new global economic crisis, the public transport sector has hardly been considered. However, an economic stimulus programme in public transport would meet two crucial criteria: firstly, millions of (good) jobs would be created; secondly, it would lead to the urgently-needed reduction in the exploitation of natural resources and of climate-critical emissions. The current reality of the European rail sector makes coordinated governmental intervention necessary: reduced train services, disused railway lines and ramshackle station buildings across Europe speak a clear language: so far, the desires of passengers and freight customers for inexpensive and punctual trains have not been fulfilled.

The sell off and privatisation of a number of railway companies that has already taken place and the new privatisation projects are accelerating this destructive process. Business customers and passengers of European railways don’t accept privatised rail companies paying annual dividends. They are against the aggressive course of acquisition and expansion set out by rail companies. They want a people’s railway, a social railway with a dense railway network, in short: a massive increase in quality of timetables, travel times, punctuality, performance and guaranteed ticket prices.

Today, as German railway privatisation has been put to one side for now, we want to use the time available to coordinate opposition to plans for the sell off and privatisation of European railways. Therefore, in the run-up to the European Parliamentary elections, we would like to discuss concepts for the rail of the future - with employers, experts and trade unionists from across Europe. At a time when trade unions across Europe are demonstrating against the consequences of the global economic crisis we want to discuss what a Europe-wide renaissance of railways could look like and how this could lead to an environmental and climate friendly capital expenditure and job creation programme.

We have drawn up the conference timetable to give this a more detailed plan.

Preliminary conference timetable

Friday evening, 15.05.09, 7.00 pm, Landtag, state parliament Düsseldorf

* Panel discussion: "The global economic crisis - Risks and opportunity for climate, environment and rail” with guests from trade unions, politics and society
* Presentation of a capital spending and job creation programme for the European rail traffic

Saturday morning, 16.05.09, 9.00 am – 12.00 noon

* Short presentation on the ”Bahn für alle” campaign
* Rail privatisation from an European point of view - four examples ranging from the initial public offering to populism

Saturday noon, 16.05.09, 12.00 noon – 12.45 pm

* Lunch time

Saturday afternoon, 16.05.09, 1.00 pm – 3.00 pm

* Initial statements and three workshops concerning
o Green new (rail) deal
o The People’s Railway 2020
o Railway-friendly European politics

Afterwards adoption of modifications and conclusion of one ”Declaration of Cologne / Déclaration de Cologne”

Saturday evening, 16.05.09, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm

* Panel discussion ”Rail of the future or a future without rail? ” with representatives of the 5 parties in the German Bundestag (the German national parliament) and the European Parliament

Saturday evening, 16.05.09, after 6.30 pm

* Finish with demonstration (with European trade unionists) at Cologne main railway station and/or at the front of Cologne Cathedral

We reserve the right to make changes to the content and the speakers

Posted on 12:22 PM | Permalink

The Socialist: 19 March 2009

Socialist Party statement
IN AN important move, the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers' union (RMT) has announced its support for an electoral alliance to contest the forthcoming European elections in June.

Alex Gordon (speaking) and Brian Denny (second from left) from the RMT addressed the Socialist Party congress in an official capacity, photo Paul Mattsson

A 'political party' has been registered - as required under electoral law to contest elections - under the name No2EU-Yes to Democracy, with the RMT general secretary, Bob Crow, as the official leader. Its platform includes opposition to the European Union (EU) constitution (now re-packaged as the Lisbon treaty), the EU's pro-privatisation directives, and the anti-trade union and 'social dumping' rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The platform takes a necessary stand against the racist far-right British National Party (BNP), and in defence of international workers' solidarity.

At present funds are in place for No2EU-Yes to Democracy candidate lists to appear on the ballot paper in a minimum of six of Britain's eleven electoral 'regions', including Scotland and Wales, but more may well be contested.

This is an electoral coalition, with initial support from the RMT, the Socialist Party, the Communist Party of Britain (publishers of the Morning Star), Solidarity - Scotland's Socialist Movement, and a number of trades union councils. Respect is still considering its involvement; the Socialist Party, for its part, would favour the broadest participation of all left and working class organisations.

No2EU-Yes to Democracy is a temporary platform for the European elections only, with the RMT representatives at the inaugural meeting stressing, unfortunately, that they were not launching a new workers' party. But that does not negate its significance as the first electoral challenge to New Labour initiated by a national trade union, the RMT, the most militant industrial union in Britain.

Pent-up anger

Brian Denny, RMT journal editor, addressed the Socialist Party congress in an official capacity, photo Paul Mattsson

The European elections might not loom large in workers' thinking, as the economic crisis intensifies. But the EU's neo-liberal directives and rulings, enthusiastically implemented by the New Labour government, are linked to the avalanche of job losses, wage cuts and continued privatisation.

Nowhere was this more clearly revealed than in the Lindsey oil refinery construction workers' dispute earlier this year. It was under the EU 'posted workers directive' and subsequent ECJ rulings that the Italian-registered company, IREM, was able to employ workers not covered by the union-enforced national construction industry agreements. The part-privatisation of the Royal Mail, the first step to its complete sell-off, is also linked to EU directives to introduce a deregulated postal services market.

The No2EU-Yes to Democracy campaign can expose the reality of the EU's neo-liberal agenda to millions of workers, while arguing the case for a workers' alternative to pro-market politicians - whether in Brussels or Westminster! And June's Euro-poll will be the first national electoral expression of the enormous anger accumulating at the devastating consequences of the capitalist crisis.

But where will that anger go? The 2004 European elections, in a completely different economic climate, still saw a big protest vote, which primarily went to UKIP, the UK Independence Party. (See the article on right.) Labour could well register an even worse result than its disastrous performance then, when it at least enjoyed opinion poll leads as the most 'economically competent' party.

UKIP, meanwhile, is likely to suffer a big loss of support. Promoting themselves as having been elected to 'take on the corrupt Eurocrats', two of its MEPs were soon implicated in benefit and EU fraud investigations, the egomaniacal Kilroy-Silk departed, and membership and donations have slumped. The Tories can expect to make big gains but there is a real threat that the far-right BNP could win seats in June.

This fear has also been a powerful impulse behind the RMT's move to organise an electoral challenge. As Bob Crow reported to the inaugural meeting, RMT members had already been contacting the union asking who the national officers thought they should vote for in June. The only alternative to backing a union-initiated electoral coalition would be to urge a vote, as anti-fascist groups like Searchlight advocate, for 'the mainstream parties' to stop the BNP.

Another factor behind the RMT's decision was the lessons of the Lindsey dispute. Firstly, it brought to wide attention in a way not done before in Britain, the role of the EU's anti-worker directives.

The RMT is currently balloting, or has taken strike action, in nine separate disputes over job losses and privatisation proposals. Is it so hard to imagine the RMT facing 'barges in the Thames' of sub-contracted EU 'posted rail workers' - as the IREM workers are being billeted in Grimsby docks - as the New Labour government, or an incoming Tory government, under the impulsion of the crisis, looks to confront one of the most powerfully organised sections of the working class?
Public meeting on lessons of the Lindsey oil refinery strike with Keith Gibson (speaking) and Jerry Hicks , photo Paul Mattsson

Public meeting on lessons of the Lindsey oil refinery strike with Keith Gibson (speaking) and Jerry Hicks , photo Paul Mattsson

Lindsey also highlighted another aspect of the situation now existing in Britain. As previous reports in The Socialist have shown, Lindsey was a victory for the working class. But it took the conscious intervention of the strike leadership, including Socialist Party members, to cut across any national or racial divisions that could have derailed the movement.

The same burning need for a clear lead is true on the political plane. That's why the RMT's electoral initiative, despite any weaknesses it may have, is so important.

In response to Labour's 2004 Euro-elections debacle the leaders of the Labour-affiliated trade unions issued another round of verbal broadsides and threats to withdraw funding.

At the Unison public sector workers' union 2004 conference, for example, the general secretary Dave Prentis promised not to "keep our heads down, gobs shut for Labour, if this government continues to put forward rightwing policies" (The Guardian, 23 June, 2004). And yet, of course, that is precisely what has happened - with the union leaders continuing to pour their members' money into Labour's coffers.
Political tasks

The RMT, on the other hand, has moved. There are, inevitably, potential difficulties. Because of the constitutional bar on union officials holding parliamentary seats, and its view that Brussels is 'a fake parliament', the RMT is insisting that victorious No2EU-Yes to Democracy candidates will not sit in the European parliament - although they would still campaign, alongside any other European workers' representatives who are elected in June, against EU attacks on the working class. And a convention of the forces involved in the campaign would be held to work out exactly how to proceed.

Most importantly, socialists could not participate in an electoral block or coalition which made concessions to racist or nationalist prejudices. But that is not the case with the proposals agreed so far around the RMT's electoral initiative which, while its programme is limited, is at bottom a pro-worker block.

There is no easy or straightforward path to re-build working class political representation. The German party, 'Election Alternative - Jobs and Social Justice' (WASG), the initial dynamic component of what is now the Left Party, was not formed, back in 2004, with a fully developed programme or democratic structures. But it broke the logjam.

And so, potentially, could the RMT's electoral initiative. The train is moving. The task of socialists, while not holding back from arguing for our ideas on the way out of the economic crisis, is to lend a helping hand.

Posted on 9:57 AM | Permalink

Financial Times: March 19 2009
By Gill Plimmer and Fiona Harvey

First Group has announced plans to cut 3,500 jobs – representing 3 per cent of its cost base – over the next year in one of the most drastic responses yet by a bus and rail group to the economic downturn.

The shares jumped almost 21 per cent, or 43¼p, to 252½p on the statement, which said a £200m savings programme and increases in ticket revenue would help the company achieve its financial targets in 2009-10.

FirstGroup, which has 140,000 employees, said the job cuts would be split evenly between the US and the UK. About a third of the 1,750 jobs to be axed in Britain will be in rail, with two-thirds in the bus division.

Any further job losses are likely to meet with opposition from the unions.

Staff on the company’s First Capital Connect franchise, which runs the Thameslink service between Brighton and Bedford, voted in favour of strike action this week after the company refused to rule out compulsory redundancies. The company is about a third of the way through the cost-reduction programme, with a recruitment freeze on some jobs in place for the past six months.

The company said its British bus and rail divisions would both achieve like-for-like revenue growth of more than 7 per cent in the year to the end of March, while its US Greyhound bus operation would deliver an increase in full-year profit despite falling demand. The company reduced mileage and cut costs at Greyhound earlier in the year.

Revenue growth fell at its four rail franchises – First Great Western, ScotRail, Transpennine and First Capital Connect – with London services the worst hit.

The First Great Western and First Capital franchises are heavily dependent on commuter traffic and FirstGroup admitted the downturn had dented growth at those businesses.

But any slowdown in passenger numbers will be mitigated by hefty revenue support from the Department for Transport.

First Great Western receives revenue support of 80 per cent from the DFT and the First Capital Connect franchise is set to receive a similar amount from April 1.

“Overall it’s a statement that reads pretty well,” said Gert Zonneveld at Panmure Gordon. “The cost-cutting measures are positive and even if there is a slowdown in the rail part of the business the Department for Transport will be bearing the brunt of the pain.”

Posted on 9:52 AM | Permalink

Daily Telegraph: 20 Mar 2009
By David Millward, Transport Editor

Rail passengers are being forced to use older trains as the average age of rolling stock reached a five year high, according to the Office of Rail Regulation.

Woman looking out of train window: Passengers forced to use older trains, finds Office of Rail Regulation
The average age of trains reached 15.5 years last year Photo: PA

Those travelling on long distance service fared worse, according to new figures.

They showed that the average age of trains reached 15.5 years last year, which made them the oldest since the summer of 2004 when they were 15.7 years.

Trains operated on long-distance lines being 18.28 years old on average, while those run by London and south east England train operators were 14.37 years – the highest figure since the end of 2004.

Passengers outside London were travelling on even older trains, with the rolling stock 17.80 years old on average at the end of last year – the highest figure for at least seven years.

The figures were seen as a condemnation of the Government's record on the railways by Theresa Villiers, the Tories' transport spokesman.

"This news is more evidence of Labour's failure on our railways. For years Labour have been promising extra carriages but they never arrive and the average age of rolling stock continues to climb. Three

successive Secretaries of State for transport have promised 1300 extra carriages and yet passengers are still stuck on enormously overcrowded and ageing trains.

"After more than a decade in control of our railways, Labour have produced the toxic combination of sky rocketing fares, deteriorating trains and massive overcrowding. It is time they got a grip and started to deliver the new carriages they have been promising for so long."

Earlier this year the Government announced a £7.5 billion contract for a replacement to the ageing inter city 125 fleet. some of which are 20-30 years old.

The trains, which will first enter service on the East Coast Main Line from London to Scotland on 2013, will be both diesel and electric powered. In addition they will be used on the Great Western Main Line from Paddington to South Wales and Cornwall and could also be brought into service for commuter services on the West Coast Main Line.

Posted on 9:27 AM | Permalink

Press Association: 20 March 2009

A rail freight container business which operated between Kent and Yorkshire has been axed due to the economic downturn, it was revealed.

Rail firm Jarvis said the container services part of its Fastline Freight division would close with immediate effect.

It will continue to operate Fastline's bulk haulage operation, which has a five-year contract to haul coal to two power stations owned by energy company E.On.

Jarvis blamed continued poor demand for its decision to shut the container services operation, which launched in 2006 and operated between Thamesport on the Isle of Grain and Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and Birch Coppice, Birmingham.

A statement from Jarvis did not disclose how many jobs were likely to be affected by the closure.

Jarvis said the freight coal haulage business with E.On continued to perform in line with management expectations.

A spokeswoman added that the company would look to redeploy the 10 staff affected by closure.

See also:

Jarvis closes freight container business

SHARECAST: 20 Mar 2009

LONDON - Contractor Jarvis has decided to close its freight container services business with immediate effect because of poor demand, exacerbated by the current economic downturn.

"This is expected to result in a non-cash exceptional charge against profits in the current financial year, which is not expected to exceed £3m," it said.

The group said the business represented less than 1% of its turnover in its latest results.

It added that the freight coal haulage business with E.On has continued to perform in line with management expectations and will not be affected by this decision.

Posted on 9:20 AM | Permalink

Guardian: 16 March 2009
Dan Milmo, transport correspondent

Stagecoach warned that its rail operations, including Virgin Trains, were "not immune" to the recession today as it indicated that passenger growth has come to a standstill.

The owner of the South West Trains and East Midlands franchises and co-owner of Virgin Trains reported a softening in demand for rail travel. Virgin Trains saw a 3.3% drop in passenger numbers on the west coast line in the 10 months to 1 March, but Stagecoach blamed the slump on engineering works rather than Britain's stuttering economy. South West Trains increased passenger numbers by 1.6% and East Midlands by 2.5% over the same period.

However, Stagecoach admitted today that all its rail operations are now feeling the pressure from the economic slowdown as analysts warned that the figures indicated an accelerating decline in passenger growth over the winter as unemployment and a deepening recession kicked in. Revenue growth at Stagecoach's rail businesses was 6.7% in the 10 months to 1 March, down from 8.2% in the first half of its financial year. Analysts said the figures indicated flat passenger growth across its rail franchises between November and January, as the dowturn and a rising jobless total took their toll. Stagecoach's biggest franchise is SWT, whose service is heavily dependent on the commuter market.

"The decline in GDP and central London employment has followed through to the level of growth on the rail market," said a Stagecoach spokesman. In today's interim management statement, Stagecoach said it would continue to drive down costs and wring out as much turnover from its rail business as possible - it has already cut more than 820 posts from its rail operations. "Our rail businesses are not immune to the impact of the current tough economic climate and we continue to monitor economic developments," said Stagecoach.

Analysts are growing increasingly bearish on public transport stocks. Bus operations remain robust - Stagecoach reported a 9% increase in bus revenues over the same 10-month period - but rail franchises are under pressure because of their historic link with the health of the wider economy.

Cazenove, the corporate broker, said in a note this morning that passenger growth at SWT and East Midlands was "still just positive" but warned that the state of the UK economy heralded further pressure on demand. "Given the operational gearing of the rail operations we continue to believe that the pressure on forecasts is still downwards," said Cazenove.

Stagecoach is tied into two of the most demanding franchise contracts at East Midlands and SWT. The SWT franchise moves into premium payment territory this year, when the business must pay the government £41m by March 2010, rising to £140m by 2012 and £343m by 2016. East Midlands will see its subsidy nearly halve to £34m this year before it starts making premium payments in 2011. All train operators are girding for a tough year next year, when fares are expected to fall by at least 1%. Inflation-linked ticket prices are due to fall because the 2010 fare levels are set by the retail price index in July the previous year - with RPI widely predicted to be in negative territory this summer.

The gloomy economic outlook has prompted several analysts to warn that rail contracts might have to be handed back or renegotiated. Damian Brewer, analyst at JP Morgan, warned recently that three of the biggest franchises might have to be renegotiated - which the rail minister, Lord Adonis, has ruled out - or dropped. "We see a growing probability that contracts might have to change anyway at National Express East Coast, First Great Western and South West Trains, which might all seek to re-open existing contracts irrespective of what demand is doing."

Posted on 4:58 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 16 March 2009

Hundreds of rail passengers have been hit by a conductors' strike on services between London and Northampton.

The industrial action follows a walkout on Friday

London Midland has had to cancel about 40 trains because of the second 24-hour walkout in four days, in a row over Sunday working conditions.

The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said there was solid support for its strike action.

It said replacing strikers with managers led to "safety lapses". London Midland has denied this.

London Midland said services between London Euston, Tring, Milton Keynes and Northampton, and the lines between

Bletchley and Bedford, and between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey, would be affected by the strike.

Around 40 of the 200 scheduled services between London and Northampton will not be running over the course of the day, London Midland said. Services to and from Birmingham were not affected.

Friday's industrial action involved about 100 staff.

The firm's managing director Steve Banaghan said using management staff in conductor roles during the industrial action had been approved by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Railways.

"Many of our managers can draw on years of experience in conductor roles and they're doing an excellent job providing services to passengers during this period of industrial action."

Meanwhile, the RMT said it was going to ballot almost 100 revenue protection officers working on Southern Railway because of lone working.

The ballot, for action short of a strike, will open on 24 March and close on 7 April.

The union says having revenue officers working alone rather than in pairs raised the risk of them being assaulted.

In addition, voting in strike ballots across a number of train companies in a protest over job losses and changes to working conditions is due to close on Tuesday.

The train companies affected are South West Trains, National Express East Anglia, First Capital Connect (Thameslink) and London Overground.

Posted on 2:54 PM | Permalink

RMT: March 9 2009

Union calls on Gordon Brown to reverse ‘dangerous and damaging’ cuts
ALMOST 200 locations where essential rail engineering works have been deferred by Network Rail from its 2009-10 schedule have been identified by Britain’s biggest rail union.

As MPs prepare for today’s government debate on the railways, RMT publishes lists from three of NR’s regions, passed to the union by whistleblowers concerned at the safety and service implications of postponing works to replace rails, sleepers and ballast in order to save money.

The lists name locations in the Southern, Western and London to Crewe regions which have had work deferred, despite it having already been agreed and placed with contractors last year – and are only a part of the 28 per cent of work that NR has postponed.

RMT expects to receive details from other regions, including Scotland and the north of England, and estimates that over 1,000 railway engineering jobs are under threat thanks to the deferrals.

“Network Rail cannot seriously expect us to believe that this work is being deferred to take advantage of more efficient but unknown future methods of delivery when the jobs being cut had already been placed with contractors,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“If Network Rail had already decided that work should take place at these 200 locations in the coming year, what has changed?

“The simple fact is that Network Rail is under massive pressure to save money, but it is shocking that it is prepared to defer essential works on this scale and cut the frequency of track inspections and signals maintenance in order to do so.

“Gordon Brown has said that it is committed to using investment in public works to help our economy ride out the recession, but unless he intervenes to reverse these cuts he will be allowing infrastructure safety standards to be undermined and subsidising redundancies instead.

“A good start to today’s debate would be to hear that the government is ordering the re-instatement of Network Rail’s full programme of planned renewals work and a reversal of cuts in maintenance regimes and inspections,” Bob Crow said.

ends

Note to editors: Three lists of locations where rail engineering works are attached below.

* Southern: http://www.rmt.org.uk/files/120182/FileName/DeferredTrackRenewal-SouthernRegion.pdf
* Midlands: http://www.rmt.org.uk/files/120184/FileName/Deferred%20Track%20Renewal%20-%20London-Crewe-West%20Midlands(1).pdf
* Western: http://www.rmt.org.uk/files/120183/FileName/DeferredTrackRenewal-WesternRegion.pdf

Early Day Motion 794, tabled by David Drew MP on February 11, follows.

NETWORK RAIL AND THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
Tabled by David Drew and signed by 33 others at March 6
That this House welcomes efforts by the Government to lessen the impact of the recession and save jobs by intervening in the private sector industries, such as the car industry; notes with concern that Network Rail, which is heavily reliant on billions of pounds of Government subsidy is deferring 28 per cent. of rail renewals work, such as track and signals replacements; notes that Network Rail has confirmed in its 2009-10 business plan that this huge reduction in track renewals expenditure will have a major impact on the supply chain with 20 to 30 per cent. less heavy materials resulting in supply chain redundancies; is appalled that this will mean massive job cuts and supports the view of the rail unions that Network Rail's actions undermine the Government's stated intentions to use infrastructure projects to boost employment; further notes with concern that Network Rail is cutting the frequency of track inspections and routine signals maintenance which, combined with the reduction in renewals work, will significantly raise safety risks to passengers and workers; urges the Government to use its power as funder of Network Rail immediately to intervene to ensure that this essential rail renewals work is not deferred, to introduce a moratorium on job cuts and to develop an industry-wide strategy to ensure that railways can be managed in a way which mitigates rather than exacerbates the effects of the economic downturn.

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=37854&SESSION=899

Posted on 8:57 AM | Permalink

RMT: March 9 2009

Nexus acknowledges scathing letter ‘likely’ to be from within
PLANS TO fragment Tyne and Wear Metro in preparation for privatisation can only undermine safety and value, according to a whistleblower apparently from within the Nexus transport executive, campaigners to keep the network public have revealed.

A detailed anonymous letter received by the Keep Metro Public campaign says that Nexus has chosen to contract out its responsibility for the safe operation of the railway – against government advice and without safety validation or risk assessment.

This, the letter says “will fragment the Metro system even more than it needs to be to test value for money of the train service provision and will introduce unacceptable safety risk the like of what we have seen on Network Rail”.

It adds that NR had recognised “the poor safety that resulted from contracting out some of its infrastructure management responsibilities, which led to disasters costing many lives” and had reversed it, and asks: “why can’t Nexus see the dangers?”

The letter adds that tender documents are due to be issued on April 1, “but as yet there are no signs of the business being ready.”

“There is not going to be a sufficient period of shadow running of the proposed concession to enable any constructive evaluation of the bids”, it says, pointing out that a full year would be normal.

“It is wholly irresponsible not to do this with an operation of this size, with the significant safety impactions on the travelling public and with the use of public money.”

And it adds that this is “yet another totally irresponsible approach to the market test and probably a deliberate attempt to undermine the in-house option” – and calls for the project’s management to be investigated.

In a hastily prepared response, Nexus director general Bernard Garner admitted to Metro staff that the letter “is very likely to be from – or at a minimum heavily influenced by – a member of Nexus staff”.

“We said from the start that splitting up Britain’s best performing railway and hiving off its operations would undermine safety and syphon huge sums of public money into private pockets,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“This letter underlines our case, and the people who rely on the Metro have the right to expect detailed answers to the searching questions it asks.

“The worst of it is that this whole process is completely unnecessary, and it is time to call a halt before irreversible damage is done,” Bob Crow said.

ends

Notes to editors: A pdf (3mb) of the letter is attached here: http://www.rmt.org.uk/files/120186/FileName/MetroAnonymousLetter.pdf

The government has agreed to provide £300 million for the ‘re-invigoration’ of the Tyne and Wear Metro, all of which will come from the public purse. However, Nexus, which itself had put the case to keep Metro as an integrated railway, has invited private-sector bids to operate passenger services and maintain infrastructure.

The list of ‘approved bidders’ includes Serco-Ned, a consortium of the engineering company and the Netherlands’ state-owned railway; Deutsche Bahn, the German national railway, and the Hong Kong-based MTR Corporation, as well as an in-house bid from Nexus, the Tyne and Wear passenger transport executive.

An opinion poll conducted by ICM Omnibus for Keep Metro Public asked a representative sample of 549 people in Tyne and Wear, Cleveland County Durham and Northumberland between September 1 and September 11 the question:

“You may have seen that the Government is proposing to provide extra funds to improve the Tyne and Wear Metro service. Do you think the Tyne & Wear Metro should be run by a publicly owned organisation or should it be run by a private company?"

The responses were:
Publicly owned organisation: 60 per cent
Private company: 22 per cent
Doesn’t matter: 10 per cent
Don’t know 7 per cent

The full details of the survey are available by email from the RMT office.

Tyne and Wear Metro was the best performing rail operator in the UK last year, according to Office of Rail Regulation figures, running 95.57 per cent of trains on time in 2007/08, ahead of all privately operated franchises.

Nexus says that its figures so far this year are even better, with 96.72 per cent of trains run on time. The network also carried more than 40 million passengers for the first time in 16 years.

Posted on 8:51 AM | Permalink

Transport Briefing: 09/03/09

Bus and train operator Arriva increased its profits by 30% last year, helped by taking over the Cross Country rail franchise from Virgin Trains.

However, the franchise is under pressure to maintain the 11.2% passengers sales growth it recorded last year and Arriva needs to achieve 10% for 2009 to maintain profit levels. This looks increasingly unrealistic in the current economic climate. A revenue protection mechanism agreed with the Department for Transport takes effect in 2011.

Revenue for the company increased 52% to £3.042bn and the addition of Cross Country to Arriva Trains Wales, the firm's other UK rail franchise, boosted profits for its UK train operations by 349%. Revenue and operating profit for Arriva's UK bus operations increased 13%.

At Arriva Trains Wales passenger revenue was up 10.9% year on year and the company revealed that the new Ebbw Valley train service, introduced in February 2008, has proved very popular carrying 11,000 passengers per week.

Arriva chief executive, David Martin, said: "2009 will be a demanding year for our industry. Nonetheless, Arriva's high cash generation, diverse portfolio and relative lack of sensitivity to passenger revenues increases the group's resilience against the recession affecting European economies and the continuing tightness of capital markets."

Martin said Arriva, which has operations in 12 countries, is better placed to ride out the recession than its UK competitors because of the strength of its European operations. It is the biggest private operator of buses and trains in Germany and Italy and hopes to take advantage of the opportunities posed by the further liberalisation of the European bus market by 2018.

Martin added: "The present economic headwinds coincide with a substantial increase in the fuel costs we need to absorb in 2009. Though macro-economic uncertainty makes it impossible to predict short-term passenger revenues with confidence, we stand ready to take contingency action wherever practicable. The business is well positioned in the medium term with fuel costs set to ease substantially in 2010.

"In our UK Bus division, the London-based business, about one-third of the division by revenue, has no exposure to passenger revenues, and has an excellent record of contract retention. In the deregulated UK Regions business, experience of previous recessions suggests that overall demand for bus travel may be relatively resilient."

Posted on 8:44 AM | Permalink

RMT: March 6 2009

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST rail union today demanded swift action to prosecute building contractors that have bought or used unlawfully obtained information to ‘blacklist’ trade union activists from rail and other transport infrastructure projects.

RMT said it would also be asking the government, Transport for London, Network Rail and all agencies responsible for public transport projects what steps they were taking to expose and prosecute any contractors using illicit information to stop trade unionists getting work.

The union said it would also be writing to all the companies where it had members seeking unequivocal assurances that such information was not sought, held or used, and asking them to make all the information they had on RMT members available to them

Workers who suspected they were on the list should be allowed to check whether were on the list, to know who their details had been supplied to and to seek compensation if they had been used to deny them work, the union said.

“We have plenty of anecdotal evidence that RMT activists have been denied work because of their union activities, and if we now have proof we need to see the book thrown at those responsible,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“Employers who deny working people the right to put food on their families’ tables simply because they dare to stand up for their own and their workmates’ rights should be exposed and made to compensate those they have wronged.

“It is right that anyone selling such information is closed down and prosecuted, but the big culprits here are the fat-cat bosses who buy and use the information to prevent workers organising to win decent pay and safer working conditions.

“Many of the companies alleged to be involved are taking huge sums out of public projects and today we have been given an insight into the murky realities behind private greed.

“I have little doubt that there are more shabby little agencies peddling the same sort of information, and they all need to be weeded out and closed down,” Bob Crow said.

Posted on 9:13 AM | Permalink

RMT: March 6 2009

A STRIKE ballot of more than 250 RMT members employed by Nexus at Tyne and Wear Metro will be concluded by March 30, the union reveals today.

The union is urging members to vote for action in a dispute over the threat to jobs, pensions and conditions posed by moves to privatise the network’s operations.

Ballot papers are scheduled to be sent out on March 16, with the result announced two weeks later.

“Tyne and Wear’s transport executive is threatening to put the Metro’s operations into private hands but it has failed to provide us with the assurances we need that our members’ futures will be secure,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said in Newcastle today.

“We hope that even at this late stage Nexus will see sense and drop its completely unnecessary tendering process, but we have already learned the bitter lesson that rail workers, like service and safety, come a poor second when profit is involved.

“We have spent the last dozen years resisting attacks on rail workers’ jobs, pensions and conditions that are the direct result of privatisation, and without firm assurances from Nexus we have no option but to ballot for action to secure them,” Bob Crow said.

ends

RMT’s demands to Nexus are:

* No compulsory redundancies, now or under future owners
* All staff in the same pension scheme, which will not worsen now or in the future.
* All staff continue to receive reduced travel cost arrangements now or in the future.
* All staff and their contracts will remain working with Nexus/Tyne & Wear Metro.
* No changes to staffing unless agreed with the trade unions.
* One collective bargaining arrangement for all staff working on the Tyne & Wear Metro.

Posted on 8:15 AM | Permalink

Daily Telegraph: 04 Mar 2009

A railway station has decided to lift a ban on couples kissing less than three weeks after it was imposed.

Kissing sign: Couples wanting a longer smooch will be guided by the 'Kiss Me Longer' sign in the station's long-stay car park Photo: PA

Warrington Bank Quay station had put up the no-kissing signs amid concerns passengers' passionate embraces were causing congestion.

It meant an end to passionate platform scenes like the one between Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard in the 1945 film Brief Encounter.

But rail bosses have now decided to commission new 'Kiss Me Quick' and 'Kiss Me Longer' signs to get their message across.

A spokesperson for Virgin Trains, who put up the original signs, said: "There was always a tongue in cheek message behind the signs - to avoid congestion.

"But perhaps some people took the message a little more seriously than others.

"We don't want to ban kissing, hopefully these new signs will make things clearer." The 'Kiss Me Quick' sign will replace the original 'No Kissing' sign in the station's drop-off area to avoid congestion.

Couples wanting a longer smooch will be guided by the 'Kiss Me Longer' sign in the station's long-stay car park.

The station is currently undergoing a £1m refurbishment and Virgin say it has become "increasingly busy" since the introduction of their Pendolino trains between London and Glasgow and Super Voyager trains between Birmingham and Scotland.

Posted on 10:26 AM | Permalink

Western Mail: Mar 5 2009
by Sally Williams,

A WELSH campaign group has attacked what it calls the “appalling neglect of the railway track” on the scenic Heart of Wales line.

John Rogers, chairman of the South Wales branch of Railfuture Wales, said he is alerting Ieuan Wyn Jones, Welsh Minister of Transport, to the fact that three of the five passing loops on the line are now out of action due to breakdown.

Mr Rogers said: “This 90-mile single-track rail line now has only two passing loops on the entire length and Network Rail can give no date for the necessary repairs to the loops at Llandovery, Llandeilo and Knighton.

“I have heard unofficially that nothing will be done until at least next year. This is utterly disgraceful and an insult to Wales.”

Speaking to Railfuture members at the group’s annual meeting in Cardiff yesterday, Mr Rogers said that it was bad enough that the line had only four trains a day each way but that even this “woeful service” would be impossible if another passing loop breaks down.

He added: “These trains provide a vital transport link for the people of Mid Wales, linking not only the towns and villages but also allowing its residents to change to inter-city trains at Shrewsbury and Swansea.

“The line is an important diversion for heavy goods trains.”

Posted on 10:23 AM | Permalink

Bloomberg: March 5
By Tracy Withers

New Zealand’s state-owned rail company probably has no value, less than a year after the previous government paid NZ$690 million ($350 million) for the business, Finance Minister Bill English said.

“The government is the owner of a business now that probably has no value, in fact has negative value,” English said in parliament yesterday.

The previous government bought rail and ferry services from Toll Holdings Ltd., ending 15 years of private ownership and removing the need to for subsidies. The government, which already owned the track network, formed a new company KiwiRail and pledged to upgrade infrastructure and improve services.

English, whose National Party won the November general election, this week said he will spend NZ$115 million on new carriages and locomotives. He is reviewing how much more money KiwiRail needs and where it will be spent, he said.

“The government has been reluctant to commit to investments that were made by the previous government and has set out to untangle the shambles that is KiwiRail,” he said.

The government is unlikely to sell the company “because no one in his or her right mind would be willing to pay anything like what the taxpayer has put into it,” he said.

Posted on 10:12 AM | Permalink

Financial Times: March 3 2009
By Robert Wright, Transport Correspondent

The company that owns Britain's mainline rail network is too focused on meeting targets set by its regulator and insufficiently focused on meeting customers' needs, according to a confidential report.

The report by PwC, commissioned by members of Network Rail, examines corporate governance of the unusually-structured company, which is limited by government guarantee and has 104 members instead of shareholders. The members have no financial interest in the company but are meant to protect the well-being of the rail system.

PwC interviewed members, many of whom are drawn from the rail industry, and other industry figures for the report. Referring to the targets set by the Office of Rail Regulation, the report says: "A common view among the stakeholders who participated in the interview programme is that the board of Network Rail is too focused on meeting the ORR targets."

Respondents tended to think the board should take a more holistic approach, it goes on.

The report, which Network Rail has declined to publish, reflects long-running concerns over the best means to ensure Network Rail is held to account for its operation of the rail network, given its lack of conventional shareholders.

The company, which is technically in the private sector, took over the network in 2002 after the collapse of Railtrack, its stock market-listed predecessor. The ORR has set the company tough targets, reflected in management's bonuses, in an effort to recreate the kind of pressure normal shareholders would exert.

The PwC report was commissioned after a series of engineering overruns during the 2007-08 new year period that raised questions about the company's governance. The report says understanding of the company's corporate governance arrangements is poor and that members are unsure of their role.

Decision-making could be more effective if the number of members were reduced to a about 30, if some were paid to improve attendance and if more secretarial and analytical support were provided, to help members to follow the company's performance in more detail.

Network Rail denied that the company was overly focused on the ORR targets.

"We believe we have a bigger purpose to serve," it said.

See also:

Network Rail urged to publish damning report on line delays

Guardian online: 2 March 2009
Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent

Company accused of tolerating 'systematic weaknesses'

Network Rail was today urged to publish a secret report which accuses the not-for-profit company of tolerating "systematic weaknesses" after the west coast mainline was severely disrupted last year.

The Cooperative party, which launched the People's Rail group to campaign for greater openness, accused Network Rail of adopting a "Basil Fawlty" approach to management and of suppressing the critical report.

Network Rail came under fire today after the Guardian revealed that it is refusing to publish a secret report by PricewaterhouseCoopers into its corporate governance. This reveals that Network Rail regarded the disruption to the west coast mainline last year as a "trivial" matter that should not have led to a fine.

Michael Stephenson, the general secretary of the Cooperative party, told the Guardian: "The evidence compiled by PWC for this report reveals an organisation imbued with the Basil Fawlty school of customer relations: 'This rail system would run much better if it wasn't for the passengers.'

"Network Rail's determination to suppress this evidence further vindicates the People's Rail campaign for passengers and the public to get real control over their rail network."

Mark Lazarowicz, the Labour MP who chairs the Cooperative parliamentary group, has written to Sir Ian McAllister, Network Rail's chairman, to demand the publication of the PWC report. He told McAllister: "I understand this report has now been completed but you have decided not to make it public. Further, I understand your organisation has no plans to do so.

"We find this situation unacceptable given the enormous public interest in this issue and the overwhelming importance of the needs of the travelling public in having an effective and accountable rail system. The suppression of this report is clear evidence of the gross failings in accountability of Network Rail and the corporate governance structure of the organisation."

Louise Elllman, the Labour chair of the Commons transport committee, said: "We must be assured that Network Rail will take this report and its criticisms seriously and change the way it is run. It should be published. It is absolutely essential that Network Rail improves its efficiency if we are going to get value for money in difficult circumstances."

Their comments came after Network Rail went to extraordinary lengths to suppress the PWC report, which was commissioned after a vote at its AGM last year amid fears that it had become unaccountable. To deter leaks, numbered copies of the report were sent to its members, who act as proxy shareholders, with a warning that it was confidential.

But the Guardian can reveal the report's key findings:

• The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) had deep concerns about the disruption to the west coast mainline service over the 2008 new year. Thousands of passengers were stranded, prompting a £14m fine on Network Rail by the ORR. The ORR told the report's authors: "We have concerns as to the inconsistency of the Network Rail board's response to some of the regulatory interventions, specifically the 2007-08 new year overruns, where they responded on one level to disagree that there had been a breach, on another level that it had been a trivial breach and that even if there was a breach that a fine was inappropriate ... They took a whole series of positions."

• Sir Ian McAllister, chairman of Network Rail, is deeply sceptical about the £16bn Crossrail project, a scheme to link east and west London. One unnamed senior figure told the report's authors: "The chairman told me that he needs Crossrail like a hole in the head."

• Network Rail has packed its board with second-rate non-executive directors. The report says: "They are perceived to be weak and ineffective at carrying out their role of challenging the board."

Network Rail, whose £20bn debts are guaranteed by the taxpayer, is highly sensitive about the report. Stuart McVernon, its head of public affairs, warned members who were sent copies: "We and the members' review group would like to remind all members that ... the report is still being distributed as a confidential report and is individually numbered accordingly."

The report was commissioned after Network Rail's 101 members won a resolution at last July's AGM to undertake a review of its corporate governance.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: "Network Rail welcomes the members' review group's suggestions on further developments to Network Rail's corporate governance and its membership. The company will now work closely with its members in considering the way forward including reaching a common understanding of the detail of the proposals and the level of support for them."

Posted on 9:35 AM | Permalink

Times & Star: 28 February 2009
By Julian Whittle

Virgin Trains is advertising return tickets from Cumbria to Paris and Brussels for £87 – but has now admitted the fare is impossible to obtain.

A News & Star investigation found the cheapest fare available is £97, and that has to be booked two months in advance.

Virgin spokesman Ken Gibbs said: “We are grateful to the News & Star for pointing this out.

“We’re not intending to deceive people by quoting £87, that’s not our intention at all. If we misled it was unintentional and we gave the fare in good faith.”

A journey to Paris or Brussels involves taking a Virgin train to London Euston then switching to a Eurostar service from the new terminal at St Pancras next door.

Although Virgin is promoting a through ticket, the fare is arrived at by adding together separate fares for the Virgin and Eurostar legs.

The £87 figure is calculated by aggregating the cheapest Virgin and Eurostar fares.

However, the cheapest Virgin tickets apply only to trains leaving Carlisle after 12.45pm.

This would mean an onward journey from London during the peak early-evening period when the cheapest Eurostar tickets are unlikely to be sold.

Mr Gibbs believes an £87 fare may become available at weekends from May when engineering work on the West Coast Main Line stops.

At present it is impossible to book through tickets to Europe at weekends because of the West Coast Main Line is partially closed.

Mr Gibbs added: “We believe this is a short-term issue.

“There are currently no weekend trains on Virgin and there is pent up demand on Eurostar because they have only just resumed a normal service [following a fire in the Channel Tunnel].

“These two things in combination make it harder to find cheap tickets.”

A new high-speed link from St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel means that through journeys from Carlisle to Brussels or Paris are possible in a little over six hours.

Tickets can be booked online at www.eurostar.com or by phone on 08705 186186.

They are not available from station booking offices.

The price includes a transfer from Euston to St Pancras on London Underground.

Craig Johnston, a Carlisle-based executive member of the RMT rail union, says the tickets should be sold at stations. “Once again, Virgin have been caught out advertising something that isn’t really available.”

“Virgin spin a yarn. Now the wheels are coming off the spin machine.”

Carlisle MP Eric Martlew was also critical of Virgin’s pricing policies and accused it of “carelessness” in promoting a non-existent fare.

He said: “There needs to be greater transparency.“People need to be able to see a price list so they know exactly what their fare will be.”

Posted on 5:21 PM | Permalink