20 December 2023
RMT Press Office:
RAIL UNION RMT responded to the Department for Transport’s long-awaited rail freight growth target released today which pledged to increase rail freight by ‘at least 75% by 2050’ by calling for an end to the cuts agenda.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that the 2050 target for rail freight growth target means nothing if at the same time the government was cutting vital rail infrastructure projects such as the Northern leg of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse rail which would provide the desperately needed extra capacity.
“We have a government that simply does not understand the importance of investing in our railways, in rail freight and creating the mode-shift we need.
“This government seems hell bent on overseeing the managed decline of our railway by flogging the dead horse of a fragmented privatised railway, whilst making massive cuts to infrastructure funding that is jeopardising safety and performance,” he said.
ENDS
Notes
- The Rail Freight Growth Target was published today by the UK Government https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rail-freight-growth-target/rail-freight-growth-target
- Network Rail is cutting £1.2 billion from its funding for railway renewals for the next five year funding period from 2024 to 2029 https://www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-10/03-pr23-final-determination-overview-england-and-wales_0.pdf
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Tagged with: RMT, Mick Lynch, Rail Freight
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