LANDSLIPS and broken rails brought some trains to a halt this week with a recent survey revealing that railway workers fear a major railway incident is likely to happen in the next two years.
Heavy rain led to trains from Salisbury to Exeter being cancelled on Monday, December 4 with an approximate 100 tonnes of clay and oil to be excavated. On other lines, point failures and broken tracks have all impacted rail travel.
The survey - carried out by the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) - revealed that planned cuts have an impact on morale as 'front line staff will carry the can.'
Live updates as trains are cancelled or delayed due to strikes and landslide
Read more: Live updates as trains cancelled
Anonymous testimony backs up the statistics with RMT members on Network Rail saying: "Planned cuts have staff morale at an all time low as it’s us who maintain the railway and management aren’t listening to us about the seriousness of cutting maintenance schedules and diluting skill levels on jobs.
"Not enough staff left to complete both faults and maintenance. Maintenance is being prioritised but still goes into backlog. Faults are left for days or weeks sometimes. Signallers are already complaining about the growing list of outstanding faults."
Other concerns include insufficient safety maintenance work or unqualified contractors being used.
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Network Rail has to work within its five-year budget set for it by Government and overseen by an independent regulator. Our settlement for the next five years – 2024 to 2029- is some £43bn, a substantial sum and comparable with the last five years.
"The needs of our railway will mean that we’ll have to spend wisely as there are challenges ahead, but substantial track renewals are planned, maintenance will be more effective through the use of new technology and innovation, and doubling our investment on tackling issues caused by climate change will help to keep our railway safe and performing well.
“Our railway has an enviable safety record, amongst the best in the world, and that’s in a major part to the professionalism and vigilance of our people. We obviously have work to do to give them the reassurances they need, but our focus on delivering the safest and best railway we can remains steadfast.”
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