Protest today in campaign to halt closure of Springburn

RAIL UNION RMT today welcomed rock-solid public support for a protest in Edinburgh this afternoon aimed at halting the proposed closure of the Springburn Rail Depot and the lifting of the threat to nearly 200 jobs and 160 years of train building, maintenance and engineering history on the site.

Campaigners are marching on the Scottish Parliament for a debate at 5pm after assembling at the top of Market Street, Edinburgh Waverley. Union members from Springburn will be in the public gallery. 

In December last year, Gemini announced its intention to close the depot, threatening nearly 200 highly-skilled jobs. The Springburn depot carries out service, maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrades on all of the ScotRail fleet. If the proposed closure goes ahead it will be a kick in the teeth for the rail industry in Scotland and would mean the sweeping away of 160 years of rail engineering history.
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RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
“The planned closure of the Springburn Rail Depot in Glasgow is an act of industrial vandalism that will not go unchallenged and RMT is mobilising for the broadest possible campaign to halt these proposals in their tracks. We welcome the fantastic support for today’s protest which will help to ram home the message that Springburn is not for sale and to demand that the option of nationalisation be placed centre stage.

“The skills set that our members at Springburn possess is simply irreplaceable and, without action from politicians and governments in both Edinburgh and Westminster, would be lost forever. This is just another example of the fragmentation of the privatised rail industry where prime assets are passed from one speculative owner to another and would mean that a proud railway nation like Scotland loses a key engineering resource at the stroke of a pen regardless of the consequences for jobs, training and the local economy.

“RMT will stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone who is willing to join us in the campaign to save the Springburn Depot and ensure that skilled railway work continues to be carried out in Scotland.”

Ends.