No improvements for railways 'until 2009'

Monday, 30 June 2003 12:00 AM

Network Rail, the company that runs the UK's railways, has warned that it may take until the end of the decade to bring train punctuality back to pre-Hatfield crash levels.

Publishing its 10 year business plan, the company also said it may have to cut 2,000 jobs to help it make savings of £12.9bn over the period. Unions have described the proposals as 'obscene' and threatened possible industrial action

It was revealed last week that 20% per cent of trains run late, a figure Network Rail hope to reduce to one in 10 by 2009.

Speaking about the threatened reductions in staff Richard Rosser, general secretary of the TSSA rail union, told the BBC that he was surprised and concerned by the announcement.

'We always knew that Railtrack was inefficient, but not so inefficient that it employed 2,000 people too many,' he commented.

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