Cuts and privatisation risk rail safety

The RMT rail union last month warned that government policy is “in danger of dragging the railways closer towards the same cocktail of conditions” that led to Ladbroke Grove rail disaster.

The union was marking the 23rd anniversary of the west London disaster on 5 October 1999, in which 31 people were killed and many more were injured.

It says the crash was one of several disasters that took place “under the watch” of the Railtrack privatised infrastructure rail company, “ultimately leading to its abolition and creation of the publicly owned company, Network Rail”.

But the RMT says a combination of factors driven by cuts — casualisation, “a myriad of contractors”, long hours and fatigue — has turned back the clock.

“Privatisation, fragmentation and a complete absence of corporate responsibility were at the heart of the tragedy,” said RMT general secretary Mick Lynch.

“The proliferation of private agencies and contractors, often employing casual staff on zero hours contracts is rapidly dragging us back to the edge.”

Employers are using often undertrained and inexperienced contingency staff during official trade union strike action, he added.

And while the Cullen public inquiry into Ladbroke Grove highlighted the critical role of the guard, the union is “still having to fight the battle to stop driver only operations on the railway”.