NEW SRA PLAN POINTLESS WITHOUT REFORM - TSSA

Thursday, 30 January 2003

TSSA, Britain’s second-biggest rail union, has said the Strategic Rail Authority’s (SRA) new Strategic Plan, published today, will be pointless, without radical reform to the rail network.

The union said the SRA was right to identify the need to keep a tighter grip on project costs, but that the system needed reintegration to achieve this.

TSSA General Secretary Richard Rosser commented:

“The SRA needs to get more than just a ‘short-term grip’ to deliver its ‘long-term vision’ for our railways.

“Before he can get more public money for the rail network, Richard Bowker knows he needs to get a tighter lid on the costs of these projects.

“Today’s Strategic Report is recognition that, in the past, too many projects have gone way over budget. But this isn’t simply down to poor management, as the SRA seems to believe.

“Costs have exploded due to the ‘contractor culture’ ‑ too much contracting out, too many consultants and too much bureaucracy needed to co-ordinate the disparate parts of a once fully integrated and more unified system.

“Without bringing more infrastructure work back in-house ‑ or at least minimising the number of players involved ‑ Mr Bowker will be saying the same thing year after year.

“If Mr Bowker truly wants to make a ‘Case for Rail’, he should be working with the Government to reintegrate our fragmented rail network. Only fundamental reform will bring the significant savings – and network upgrades – we all want to see.

“Without these changes, all the SRA’s good intentions are worthless”.

ends

For further information, please contact:

Mike Katz, Head of Communications (020) 7529 8033 or 07956 925969

Notes to Editors

1. TSSA represents 32,000 members in administrative, clerical, managerial, professional and technical jobs in the railways, buses, the London Underground, the travel trade, canals, ports and ferries, and road haulage.