PLANNED cuts to railway maintenance workers could have “devastating consequences" for safety, transport union TSSA warned today.

Publicly owned Network Rail, which is responsible for maintaining and repairing Britain’s railway infrastructure, intends to axe 2,600 maintenance jobs to save £100 million in wages.

TSSA, representing professional, clerical and managerial workers, said that it would consider strike action if the cuts jeopardised safety – or if Network Rail tries to make redundancies compulsory.