Rail maintenance cuts 'jeopardising safety', says RMT

Rail union, RMT says it will hold a day of action against cuts to railway maintenance, infrastructure and renewals work tomorrow, February 8, 2024.

The move comes as it argues that Network Rail's planned budget reduction of £1.2bn over the next 5 years to track and infrastructure renewals work poses 'increased risk to public safety, railway workers and overall efficiency of the service'.

The budget of publicly-owned Network Rail is set by government.

Rail infrastructure includes signalling, drainage, earthworks, level crossings and track - all of which are critical to the safe and reliable running of trains on the network.

Union activists are leafleting over 20 stations across the country on Thursday as part of RMT's 'Rail Cuts Cost Lives' campaign, informing the public of the dangers posed by Network Rail's plans. 

RMT cites the abolition of the Track Renewal Service (TRS) organisation within Network Rail supply chain cutting 500 jobs and the outsourcing of such operations to private infrastructure companies as an example of what it describes as 'dangerous, government-driven cuts.'

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "Network Rail's plans to cut over a billion pounds on railway renewals work jeopardises safety for rail workers and passengers.

"Our railway infrastructure needs to be maintained and improved which can only happen by increasing investment, not cuts.

"We've already had reports of cracked rails, problems with drainage and recent extreme weather events which in 2020 led to the Carmont rail disaster.

"We cannot afford to allow the railway to be less safe which is why we will be campaigning to reverse these cuts throughout the country on Thursday and in the coming weeks and months ahead."

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We know there’s going to be lower demand for the specialist track renewal services we offer in the next five years (CP7), as we invest in our infrastructure in other ways, so we’re consulting with our colleagues and trades unions on changes to restructure and re-size some of our teams accordingly. Safety remains our priority and all proposals will be thoroughly safety validated before we make any final decisions."