RAIL union RMT said yesterday it will fight Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s plans to privatise Network Rail.
The RMT lobbied a major speech on rail policy by Grayling at the Policy Exchange in Central London at 6.30pm yesterday evening. The RMT assembled outside the venue from 6pm to make the case in defence of the role of the guard and for safe trains for all across the whole rail network.
Ahead of his speech, Grayling told the Today programme he wants each rail franchise to be run by joint management teams, including representatives from both the train operating company and Network Rail. Grayling said: ‘I intend to start bringing back together the operation of track and train on our railways.’
He claimed the changes were ‘not about privatising Network Rail, it’s not about handing over control of the track to train operating companies, it’s about forging partnership alliances between the two.’
But RMT general secretary Mick Cash said the proposed changes are ‘a slippery slope to privatisation and the break-up of Network Rail’ and that the RMT is ‘deeply concerned’.
He warned: ‘We don’t want to go back to the Railtrack days. It’s quite clear they want to break up Network Rail, they want to privatise the rail infrastructure. We don’t want to go back to the days of Hatfield and Potters Bar (rail disasters), that’s what happens when you get the private sector in charge of our infrastructure.’
Cash stressed: ‘What the country really needs is a publicly owned railway run in the public interest free from greed and exploitation. RMT will fight any moves to privatise Network Rail with every tool at our disposal.’
The Unite union also condemned Grayling’s plans. Unite regional officer Hugh Roberts said: ‘Politicians, such as Chris Grayling, have short memories and have conveniently forgotten the Hatfield rail crash in October 2000 when four people were killed and more than 70 injured which happened under the aegis of privately-owned Railtrack.
‘Since Network Rail took over the infrastructure and maintenance of the rail system, safety has greatly improved – so there is a big question mark as to why Chris Grayling is taking this retrograde step by wishing to involve private train operating companies.
‘Unite does not believe that privatisation dogma should trump passenger safety, especially at a time when public opinion is increasingly in favour of rail re-nationalisation.
‘As recently as January this year, a poll by pressure group Action for Rail revealed that 62 per cent of people favoured the public ownership of the train operating companies. It should not be forgotten that “failing” Grayling was the minister who brought chaos to the prison system when he was Justice Secretary – he now intends an encore at the Department of Transport. Today’s plans should hit the buffers.’
Grayling’s announcement came in the middle of the latest Southern rail guards strike over safety. ‘The strike is solid, as ever,’ RMT London regional organiser Paul Cox told News Line at the morning picket line outside Victoria station. He rubbished Grayling’s claim during his morning interview that he would meet the union if it suspended the strike.
Cox said: ‘This strike is about safety not about money, it’s a principled stand. We offered to suspend the strike months ago if Grayling would meet us. He has not. I don’t believe his claim on Today, he’s said he would meet the union many times. ASLEF has voted for strike action, it’s disgraceful that the company are going to court over that. They are wrong to use a law that would affect other unions.’
Paddington RMT rail branch member Paul Gormley joined the Victoria picket. He said: ‘I’m supporting my comrades here, we had a similar strike last year.’
