RAIL UNION RMT today demanded a halt to a ticket office closure programme across the London Midland service after internal DfT emails revealed that the Minister has already agreed to the savage cuts in return for a cash payment from the company

"We can't say that the Government has no plans to close ticket offices because we have an application from London Midland where the Minister has already decided to approve some ticket office closures (it's just not been announced yet while we're concluding £ negotiations with LM) and there will be more of those in the future."

The London Midland plans would close a dozen ticket offices completely, result in savage cuts at 86 out of ninety offices and threaten over 100 jobs. They have been opposed by 18000 people in responses to the public consultation along with passenger groups, statutory monitors, disabled groups and politicians.

RMT pledged today to step up the campaign of resistance and will work with Midlands MP Jack Dromey to raise the "cash for closures" scandal in Parliament at the earliest opportunity.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

"This "cash for closures" scandal shows that the Government are prepared to ride roughshod over public opinion to bulldoze through ticket office closures with London Midland blazing a trail for the McNulty carve-up the length and breadth of the country.

"RMT will step up the fight to stop this stitch-up which would turn our stations into a muggers and vandals paradise."

All nine carriages of the Class 390 tilting train came off the tracks, with 86 passengers and two crew members injured; 28 seriously.

Last month, Network Rail admitted safety failures in the lead-up to the derailment on February 23 2007, with a report blaming a badly-maintained and faulty set of points.

In admitting a charge under section 3(1) of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act at Preston Crown Court the publicly-funded body opened itself up to an unlimited fine, which was handed out at the same court today.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Swift said: 'This was a very serious offence and could have easily led to greater loss of life than actually occurred.'

The judge, who ordered the fine to be paid within 28 days along with £118,037 costs, said the fine would have been £6million if not for the guilty plea.

Mrs Masson's family put the blame for the crash squarely on the rail firm's management; while the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said the 'immediate cause' of the derailment was poor maintenance of the failed points.

Last month Network Rail was fined £1million for safety breaches after the deaths of two schoolgirls at a level crossing in Essex in 2005.

It also paid a £3million fine last year for the Potters Bar disaster in 2002 that left seven dead.

Network Rail chief executive commented: 'The Grayrigg derailment in 2007 resulting in the tragic death of Mrs Masson was a terrible event. Within hours it was clear that the infrastructure was at fault and we accepted responsibility, so it is right that we have been fined.

'Nothing we can say or do will lessen the pain felt by Mrs Masson's family but we will make the railways safer and strive to prevent such an accident ever happening again.'

Ian Prosser, director of railway safety at the Office of Rail Regulation, described the derailment as a 'devastating and preventable' incident.

'It tragically caused the death of Mrs Masson, and shattered the lives of others. My thoughts are with Mrs Masson's family and all those injured and affected by this horrific incident,' he said.

'Under Sir David Higgins' leadership, Network Rail is focused on driving safety measures and I welcome the company's progress on implementing safety recommendations made after this incident. But the pace of carrying out improvements has, at times, been too slow and the rail regulator has had to repeatedly push the company to bring about change.'

Outside court, solicitor Soyab Patel, speaking on behalf of Mrs Masson's family, including her daughter Margaret, said: 'The fine of £4million together with costs will ultimately be borne by the taxpayer.

'Mrs [Margaret] Langley is a taxpayer. Her mother died in the crash. She and her husband suffered serious injuries. She finds it offensive she is contributing to the fine.'

RMT union leader Bob Crow said the £4 million fine would come directly from the rail maintenance budget.

'Perversely, today's outcome makes another Grayrigg more likely while those in charge at Network Rail at the time have been honoured and have gone on to make fortunes,' Mr Crow said.

'The nonsense of this situation is that the Office of Rail Regulation who brought this prosecution are also the body demanding the cuts, as they have a blatant conflict of interest as both financial and safety regulator in the twisted world of rail privatisation.'

Link to Metro site

Paddington handled 32.2 million travellers, an increase of 10.6 per cent, while 55.8million passed through London’s Liverpool Street, a rise of 8.1 per cent.

Association of Train Operating Companies spokesman Edward Welsh said: ‘Rail travel is more popular now than at any time since the 1920s.

‘Despite difficult financial times for a lot of people, train companies are attracting more and more passengers with better services and a range of value-for-money tickets.

‘More people travelling by train is good news for the rail industry, the economy and the environment.’ Figures from the ORR compared passenger entry and exits from April 2010 to March 2011 with the previous 12 months.

Waterloo in London was the busiest with 91.8million passengers, a rise of 6.2 per cent.

Next was Victoria, where numbers rose 4.8 per cent to 73.6million.

The next busiest stations – all in London – were Liverpool Street, London Bridge with 51.4million and Charing Cross with 37.22million.

The busiest Scottish station was Glasgow Central, which increased 4.8 per cent to 24.95million.

Cardiff Central was the busiest station in Wales, up 4.8 per cent to 11.26million.

The busiest English regional station was Birmingham New Street, where exits and entrances fell 2.3 per cent to 24.7million.

Link to Metro site

He now earns more than the £69,000 salary transport secretary Justine Greening is paid and almost as much as she gets when her £65,000 MP’s salary is included.

Despite claiming to be independent, the bulk of Passenger Focus’s £6.4million budget last year came from Ms Greening’s department.

Critics say there is a conflict of interest because the group was previously funded by a rail regulator.

Next year, with an almost 50 per cent cut in funding from the DfT to £3.8million, Passenger Focus has cut its 60-strong workforce by a third rather than reduce the salary of its chief executive.

When earlier this month it was revealed that train operating companies were failing to meet punctuality targets of 92 per cent, Mr Smith told Metro the target should be lowered.

‘Hearing that these targets will not be met is disappointing and underlines that realistic targets that passengers can rely on must be set in the future,’ he said.

In December, when passengers learned they were to face an average fare rise of 5.9 per cent with some facing double-digit rises Mr Smith said: ‘It could have been a lot worse.’

Mr Smith denied being influenced by the Department for Transport.

‘At no time during our sponsorship by DfT have they ever tried to control what we do or say,’ he told Metro.

Link to Metro site

Train fares are too high because the government is failing to hold the rail authority to account, MPs warned.

‘It is unacceptable that Network Rail is still not fully transparent or accountable to Parliament or the taxpayer,’ the report into costs at the Department for Transport found.

‘The Department hands Network Rail more than £3billion each year and underwrites debt of more than £25billion and yet maintains the fiction that this is a private sector company.’

Transport minister Norman Baker said Network Rail was committed to ‘making its decisions more accountable and is developing a transparency code in a similar vein to the Freedom of Information Act’.

Link to Metro site

Train commuters are facing even higher ticket prices in peak hours under plans to cut billions of pounds of spending on the railways.

The ideas, such as starting peak evening hours at 3pm rather than 5pm, were put forward by transport secretary Justine Greening to ‘smooth demand’ in rush hours.

She also wants to close ticket offices and sell tickets through libraries and shops instead.

Her plans outraged passenger groups, who said commuters had little choice over when to travel, and unions, who threatened to strike over any cuts to staffing, pay or conditions.

Passenger Focus chief executive Anthony Smith said: ‘The affordable, walk-up railway could easily disappear as passengers are forced to be inflexible and book ahead.’

The shake-up is proposed in the government’s response to transport expert Sir Roy McNulty’s comprehensive review of the railways last year.

He claimed rail spending could be lopped by a third – or £3.5billion – and pointed an accusing finger at high pay for rail staff.

Ms Greening argued her plans would ‘root out inefficiency so we can deliver real value for money that ends inflation-busting fare rises once and for all’.

Labour said ‘the interests of private train companies are being put before those of passengers’.

And the RMT union called the plans ‘a recipe for exploitation’ that would ‘rob passengers blind’.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/892603-peak-hours-train-rates-to-start-earlier-and-cost-more-under-new-plans#ixzz1oazx3vwK

More fares robbery, more cuts, more profiteering - and a network that continues to be the laughing stock of Europe. That's the Con-Dem vision for railways as set out in a consultation paper which was jaw-droppingly audacious in its claims that black is white, up is down and soaring prices are "more affordable."

Apparently this will "incentivise" us to travel off-peak, as if the legions of commuters who cram themselves daily into grubby, creaking, antiquated trains have any choice about when they get to work.

Apparently, too, allowing privateers to double or treble their already exorbitant peak fares will "end" the inflation-busting fare rises we have become used to year in, year out since privatisation.

That's not a use of "end" you're likely to find in any dictionary outside the Ministry of Transport.

Most insulting of all is Transport Secretary Justine Greening's talk of a £3.5-billion-a-year "efficiency gap."

We know all too well what the Con-Dems mean when they talk about making cuts for the sake of "efficiency."

They mean slashing everything that makes a service decent, reliable and accessible to all.

Here it's the station staff who stop platforms from being dark, dangerous, hostile places to wait. It's the guards who keep those overcrowded trains from becoming like the Wild West.

It's the ticket offices that cut through the post-privatisation muddle and help us find the right, cheapest fare.

These aren't luxuries. They're a basic part of a decent public service. If they go, and if the rail privateers are given free rein on fares, then our railways risk becoming a plaything for the rich at peak times and a no-go zone for the nervous the rest of the time.

And there's no need to cut any of them.

There is a multibillion-pound "efficiency gap" on the railways - and it's easily dealt with. But it's not the one the McNulty review identified.

It's the upwards of £5bn of taxpayers' money that we fork out in subsidy each and every year.

It goes straight through the rail system and out the other side into privateers' pockets - as evidenced by the creaking trains and the crumbling infrastructure they run on.

To add insult to injury, it's vastly more than British Rail was ever given. Almost exactly £3.5bn a year more than BR was ever given, in fact. How's about that for an efficiency gap?

And yet BR ran as a public service, not for profit, with affordable fares and a duty to serve all passengers, not just the middle-class commuters who can afford the soaring cost of a season ticket.

Imagine what BR could have done with the £5bn a year we're forking out for the highest fares and some of the worst service in Europe.

That's the real scandal of our railways - that we're being taken to the cleaners year in, year out by a bunch of incompetent chancers whose response to every setback is to demand, and get, more subsidy.

The only way to fix our railways is to take them back where they always belonged, into public ownership.

Economic logic demands it. The vast majority of the public want it. Britain's transport future needs it.

The only question is whether - once the Con-Dems are booted out - Labour can shake off its slavish adherence to the market, and go ahead and do it.

Failure to find cuts is likely to lead to precisely the opposite of what the Government has promised

The paper containing the proposals, Reforming Our Railways: Putting the Customer First, suggests some fares might actually rise. The Government will ask "those who drive the need for capacity enhancements by travelling at the busiest times to pay more over time for their journey by comparison". So people travelling at the height of the peak – say 8am or 5pm – may well have to pay extra, while those travelling slightly off-peak – say 9am or after 6pm – could pay less than now.

This sort of tinkering with an already complex structure is fraught with difficulties because it will inevitably lead to anomalies. Moreover, implementing a new formula would require the permission of the franchisees – the train operating companies – and they will always ask for extra money to agree to such changes, which a cash-strapped department may not be able to provide.

There is a more fundamental obstacle to lower fares. Stopping the annual round of "inflation-busting" fares depends on reducing costs in the industry. According to the McNulty report on the industry's finance, published last year, these are about 30 per cent, or £3.5bn, higher than they ought to be. A pan-industry body called the Rail Delivery Group, consisting of rather reluctant senior railway managers who are not paid extra to serve on the body, is supposed to find these savings.

Their task of knocking heads together in a disparate industry is nigh-on impossible. In fact, much of the extra cost of the industry, compared with its European counterparts, is the result of the structure created when the railways were privatised in the mid-1990s. Drivers' wages have soared, and contracting out services previously done in-house has led to escalating costs. What's more, a staggering £1bn each year goes on interest payments for Network Rail's £22bn debt.

Achieving such a draconian level of reductions is unprecedented and, given these difficulties, is unlikely to happen. Even more so given that the obvious way of reducing costs – reintegrating the industry into a new British Rail-type structure – has been ruled out.

Failure to find these cuts is likely to lead to precisely the opposite of what the Government promised yesterday: higher rather than lower fares, or a cutback in investment, currently running at a historically high level.

Signallers working for Network Rail voted unanimously to challenge the recently introduced Standard 019 as they believe it is over complicated and potentially dangerous.

Conference heard from many delegates from all over the country and all were united in their opposition to this awful way of working, indeed most agreed that far from being a safe system of work, it has huge potential to cause dangerous and possibly fatal accidents on the railway.

Delegates reiterated their views that safety is their number one priority and they believe that the complexities of this system could have devastating effects, not just on themselves, but also other railway employees and the travelling public.

Delegates also decided that a resolution supporting a review and possible modernisation of our PTR&R Terms and Conditions should be presented to the RMT AGM for debate. This is because these agreements were last reviewed in 1994 and some date back to before WWII.

All the resolutions from RMT Bristol branch were passed and the conference stated our determination to stand firm in the face of the biggest ever attacks on our grade.

We will never stand in the way of modernisation, but we will insist that national agreements are honoured and indeed improved, whilst displaced and redundant staff are treated fairly and with dignity.

The West of England Partnership – the body that represents the four local authorities – officially launched the Greater Bristol Metro Rail campaign last week.

The partnership has now produced a report setting out a timetable for when they want those improvements to happen, in two main stages.

Planning consultants Halcrow have set out what could be achieved if the public and local authorities successfully lobby the government for better local rail services.

They believe more active use of the network from Bath, Severn Beach and Portishead under phase one of the strategy could create earlier opportunities for new stations.

In all, Greater Bristol Metro Rail could deliver up to ten new stations within the 15-year Great Western franchise period, when it is re-appointed next year.

That’s if four-tracking of a section of local railway, the reopening of the Portishead railway and half-hourly trains on the existing network can be secured first.

The Henbury Loop could happen – when redevelopment plans for Filton Airfield are clear – from 2019.

In the short term, a new park-and-ride platform at Bristol Parkway can be delivered by 2013 with Bristol City Council funding.

Halcrow then proposes government support should be sought for four track, a new line to Portishead with a new station at Pill. This would provide enough capacity to introduce more regular services.

If the West of England and Metro Rail supporters persuade the government to back the submission, it would mean even more trains.

The consultants say that from 2013 to 2018 Greater Bristol should see hourly services from Portishead to Severn Beach and Temple Meads; a new hourly service from Severn Beach to Bath Spa and a half-hourly Severn Beach Line service with through trains to Portishead and Bath Spa.

Four track is the key to the success of this plan and should be the target of a focussed campaign in the lead-in to a government funding decision in June.

Halcrow says that by 2018 the West of England can focus on providing a half hour service to Bedminster/Parson Street by stopping Taunton to Cardiff trains; an hourly Henbury Loop service via Filton Abbey Wood with capacity for two new stations at Filton North and Henbury alongside Filton Airfield development.

The service could serve new stations at Horfield and Ashley Down.

In Yate a half-hourly service could be provided by extending Weston-super-Mare-to-Bristol Parkway services with a new turn-back facility.

The report notes that funding opportunities for a number of new stations, including Saltford, Ashton Gate and Corsham, subject to business cases, should be sought within the franchise period beyond 2013.

Bristol’s executive member for transport Councillor Tim Kent said: “Our proposals take on board what many people have been calling for in this region and go a step further.

“We believe this is more than just a vision but a deliverable plan which will help keep our city and region moving and boost economic growth.

“Our proposals will see the reopening of the Portishead and Henbury lines, up to 10 new stations and trains serving every station at least every 30 minutes.

“This can be the age of rail, where we reverse the damage done in the 1960s, relieve the congestion we see now on our roads and rail network, and deliver a modern and functioning rail network that will benefit all.

“Everyone should get writing and e-mailing the government and signing the petition.

“The campaign will continue to run as long as there are benefits to be gained for the local network.

“If we get government support for the right benefits in the right order, everybody wins.”

To get involved with the campaign, go to the website www.greaterbristolrail.com.

RMT Young Members vowed to keep up the pressure on employers to stop removing jobs from the workplace. Jobs cut through natural wastage are seriously affecting the chances of young workers in this country from ever getting a decent job.

They decided that the biggest issue was a resolution from RMT Bristol highlighting the growing issue of companies not filling vacancies. It has been noticed in many transport companies that when a worker leaves or retires, these positions are not being filled and are allowed to quietly dissapper from the establishment. This is creating problems for young workers of not only career progression, but also the very real problem of actually getting a job in the first place. This resolution will now be put before the RMTs supreme governing body, the Annual General Meeting later this year.

The Young Members section has also made some very good links with other unions and pressure groups, including the public sector union PCS and campaign group Youth Fight for Jobs.

Bristolians are being asked to get on board with a campaign to transform local rail services in the region.

Greater Bristol Metro Rail aims to bring former stations back into use, increase frequency of services and secure greater investment in branch rail services.

The campaign website was officially launched yesterday, and a petition is due to be started soon.

There are four key aspects to the campaign; more trains, more often; reopening disused stations; reopening the Portishead rail line and four tracking along a section of the local railway line.

The four councils – Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset – want all of these included in the new Great Western rail franchise when it is appointed next year.

The government is currently consulting on what changes should be made to the Great Western rail franchise and the campaign will aim to have local rail improvements as part of the new contract.

Councillors believe they can prove that spending money on local rail pays for itself, pointing to the huge increase in passengers on the Severn Beach line since the service was increased.

The campaign will need to prove their is local support for better rail, and that people will be willing to use trains more often if the service is upgraded.

So councillors want businesses, MPs and the general public to write to the Department for Transport and join the fight for better local rail in Greater Bristol.

Bristol City Council’s executive member for transport Tim Kent says he wants people to demonstrate their passion for local rail.

He said: “The long-term aspiration is ensuring at every station there is a train every 30 minutes or better.

“At the moment there can be a two- hour gap between trains. We want a turn up and go service.

“We will be working up a business case. There has been a 90 per cent growth on the Severn Beach line in the last seven or eight years, that’s phenomenal. Local rail can pay for itself.”

Key stations to reopen include Portishead, Ashley Hill and Horfield, Mr Kent says.

Each would cost a different amount but the council has estimated an average of £5 million.

Reopening the Portishead railway would cost around £50 million more and providing four tracks between Parsons Street and Filton Bank could be around £30 million.

Originally there were four tracks on the route but two were removed, so the campaign wants them replaced.

It is essential if rail operators want to run more trains. At the moment the stretch between Temple Meads and Filton Bank is one of the most congested in the country.

The key question is where will the money come from.

Mr Kent said: “There are opportunities, and whoever gets the franchise should invest in the network.

“We have major scheme money for the Bus Rapid Transit but there is a new pot in 2015. A large proportion of that could be put into rail between 2015 and 2020.”

Campaigners have been fighting to re-open the Portishead railway line to passenger trains for years, but so far without success.

Mr Kent said: “We have seen a massive expansion of the population in Portishead. If we want to have sustainable transport we need to use the rail link we have.

“We think there is a real chance. Everyone is talking about rail locally and in government. It adds up economically and environmentally.”

South Gloucestershire Council’s executive member for transport Brian Allinson says the Greater Bristol Metro will also benefit people living outside of the city.

He said: “With the possible development of Filton Airfield the Henbury Loop will be important.

“Wherever people can, we want them to contact their MPs, their councillors and people of influence to explain how important it is to get Greater Bristol moving.”

Transport for Greater Bristol Alliance is one of a number of groups backing the initiative.

Although it’s fair to say many of these improvements have been wanted for years, the group believes now is the right time for success.

Spokesman Ian Crawford said: “We’re supporting the campaign and we’re pleased the city council has led on it and managed to get some of the West of England Partnership on board. We’re now starting to face the same way.

“We see the key part of the campaign as the Great Western rail franchise and the response to the DfT.

“We will be lobbying all our local MPs in March to get them in support.”

Consultation on the franchise runs until the end of March, with a shortlist of potential bidders due to be released later this year.

Once this shortlist is announced the campaign will switch focus to the bidding companies, to convince them to include local rail upgrades as part of their bid to government.

For more on the campaign, go to greaterbristolrail.com