2 August 2018
RMT Press Office:
RMT responds to cross-party call for £100 billion investment in Northern transport
TRANSPORT UNION RMT has called for action now and not jam tomorrow after senior Tories and other politicians, including former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine, today urged Philip Hammond to commit £100 billion to “transform” northern transport services.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
“It’s all very well this cross-party group of assorted grandees banging the drum for investment in transport across the North way off into the future but what passengers are crying out for is action in the here and now.
“No one should forget that it was Chris Grayling himself who axed key infrastructure and electrification projects and who has presided over the timetable chaos that has unleashed misery across the region. It is also Mr Grayling’s Department who have rigged the franchising process to try and drive the guard’s off the trains.
“We have all heard politicians trotting out the “Northern Powerhouse” rhetoric while transport services have been allowed to sink into a continuing crisis with passengers and staff alike caught in the crossfire. That posturing has to stop.
“What we need is public transport services designed to be safe, reliable and accessible for all and that means bringing those services under public ownership and public control with the cash generated invested back into the infrastructure and staffing required to deliver the quality that passengers are crying out for.”
ENDS
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