Member Article

RMT up in arms over Northern Rail consultation

Rail Union RMT is set to deliver 5,000 post cards to the Department of Transport as the consultation on the future plans for the Northern and Trans-Pennine Express franchises comes to a close.

The post cards, being delivered on Monday 18 August have been collected from members of the public at nearly fifty events organised by RMT across the region during the consultation period in reaction to the “shadowy” official consultation process.

This comes as York-based Northern Rail have announced plans to axe some off-peak rail fares. The changes will take effect from Monday 8 September and will mean that off-peak tickets can no longer be used at peak times during weekday evenings on local rail services in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire.

RMT says that these cuts are purely “in the name of private profit” and “a kick in the teeth for the travelling public and a taste of what’s to come under the new Northern and Trans-Pennine Express franchises which are currently out to public consultation.”

According to RMT, a Northern Rail staff circular stated: “The changes are being made after the Department of Transport asked Northern to look at several options to generate additional revenue as part of its new franchise agreement.”

In a statement, Richard Allan, commercial director of Northern Rail said: “The majority of customers who travel at peak times, such as those with season tickets, will be unaffected by these changes but we want to make sure that those who are know about what is happening.”

“We have consulted extensively with local stakeholders and with Passenger Focus on the detail of this change, which is part of our new franchise agreement that was announced in March.”

In addition to the changes to off-peak tickets, the franchise agreement includes commitments to invest in more customer information systems, better retailing facilities and environmental initiatives according to Northern Rail.

Over the course of the 22 month franchise over £6 million will be invested to improve facilities for customers, they said.

RMT acting general secretary Mick Cash said: “It is disgraceful that plans that will whack up fares, axe jobs and services and reduce both the Northern and Trans-Pennine franchises to an unsafe, money-making racket, are being bulldozed through under cover of a wholly bogus consultation.

“If RMT officials and activists hadn’t organised almost fifty events, and a major press campaign, the vast majority of people would have known nothing of this huge rail carve-up.

“The plans are already afoot before the consultation has even ended, the axing of off-peak fares on Northern is a savage kick in the teeth for people already struggling with the burden of low pay and austerity and the fact that it has been cooked up by the Department for Transport in collusion with the privatisation pirates from Northern Rail is a warning of what’s to come.”

“Let’s not forget that the core of the Government’s future plans for Northern and TPE is to axe jobs, throw the guards off the trains and jack up fares while capacity to meet surging rail demand in the area is left to stagnate.

“That attack on the fare-paying public has already begun and the delivery of nearly five thousand cards protesting against the plans on Monday is only the start of the RMT-organised fightback.”

Main plans for the consultations include:

• Driver Only Operation introduced on the Northern franchise
• Driver Only Operation left at the discretion of the franchisee on the TPE
• Reduced ticket office opening times
• Cuts to “back room and support functions” staff
• Possible “alliancing” between franchisees and Network Rail
• Encouraging “local delivery models” and community rail (especially in the North East of Northern franchise)
• Increasing fares
• The promotion of third party funding of services

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .