It's full speed ahead for 'half-baked' rail scheme
Thursday 12 January 2012
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EmailRail union RMT leader Bob Crow attacked the government today for steaming ahead with tendering for the new Greater Western franchise before the McNulty rail review has passed through Parliament.
The tender documents make it clear that the bidding process will be conducted under the framework set out by Sir Roy McNulty's review and that means the closure of ticket offices at 29 stations and severe cuts to opening hours at a further 17.
Mr Crow said: "It is an insult to democracy that the Greater Western franchise is being tendered on the basis of a half-baked and totally bogus set of ideas advanced by McNulty before they have even been endorsed by the country's lawmakers.
"This a pre-emptive strike that will lead to a massacre of the ticket offices from London to Wales and the south-west with hundreds of station and train-based jobs on the line and the quality of passenger services dumped in order to ramp up private profits.
"RMT will unite with our sister unions and passengers to stop these plans in their tracks."
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