Will your councilbe supportingyour railway?

Or cutting railjobs andservices?

Councils and Councillors now have significantcontrol of railways in the North. Twenty nineCouncils make up a new body called Rail North. Although Rail North cannot decide whether ourrailways should be publicly owned (which is whatmost passengers would prefer!) they will be decidingon many important issues that affect passengers.This includes train service levels and what stationand train staff will be available toassist passengers and protect theirsafety.

One of Rail Northsfirst big decisions will beto help determine withthe government therail franchiseagreements forNorthern Rail andTranspennineExpress Trains (TPE)services. Theseagreements start on1st April 2016,shortly before the localelections in May.

Worryingly thecurrent proposed franchiseagreements mean there will befewer rail staff to help passengersand protect their safety.There are no guarantees that ticket offices will bekept open. And no safeguards that as many stationsas possible will have properly trained and directlyemployed station staff to help passengers.

In fact there will be cuts to rail jobs. Forexample railway regulations currently guaranteethat passengers in the North always have a Guard /Conductor on their train. In addition to the driverpassengers know there will always be a highlytrained Guard to protect the safe operation of thetrain and deal with emergencies, such as fire,derailments and driver incapacity. And of course theGuard provides general assurance to passengers,ticket and travel advice and revenue protection.

Astonishingly the proposed rail franchiseagreements mean passengers will no longer havethis protection. For the Northern franchise biddershave been been told that Guards must be axed on atleast 50% of rail services and instead trains will beDriver Control Operated. What this actually meansis widespread Driver Only Operation, because underthese new arrangements there will no longer be a

requirement for a guard to be on every train. And because 331 of Northerns 527 stations areunstaffed axing guards will have a disproportionateimpact on people with disabilities who simply willnot be able to travel if there is no guarantee of amember of staff to assist them on and off the train.

On the Transpennine Express franchise,whilst there is no requirement for bidders to get rid

of Guards, neither is there a guaranteefor passengers that Guards will be

retained. This is also a majorconcern as in our

experience the privatetrain companies willseek to maximiseprofits by cuttingstaff.

It is not onlypassenger safety andservice that will beaffected, so will oureconomy and

communities.Thousands of relatively

decent rail jobs will beunder threat, deskilled and

casualised. Cuts to rail jobsare always a false economy and

hardly the right track to a NorthernPower House.

But there is no basis for cost cutting on theNorths railways. Passengers pay the most expensivefares in Europe and in the last five years NorthernRail and TPE have paid out almost half a billionpounds to shareholders. Thats half the amount thegovernment say they will invest in the Northspassenger railway in the next five years. And because the only bidders for the NorthernFranchise are owned by Dutch, French and Germanstate railways profits are set to be siphoned off topay for rail improvements in Amsterdam, Berlin andParis, while passengers in the North will see cuts totheir railway staff.

According to Rail Norths own estimatespassenger demand for the norths railway will soarby 50% over the next fifteen years. This will alsomean a huge increase in revenues which should beused to take on more, much needed rail staff, notcut them. We can protect quality jobs in our region andprotect rail services and safety heres how.n

What is the threat to rail services and jobs in theNorth of England?

1000train guard jobs

under threat

12,000passengers have alreadywritten to protestagainst train andstation staff cuts

As we have already explained the Rail North Boardcouncillors will have a key say over the rail franchiseagreements. Importantly they will also be able tomake changes to the agreements and will beresponsible for railway services and staffing. Theyhave the power to protect rail services and jobs.

And Rail North Councillors can count on thesupport of passengers if they act to protect rail jobsand safety. MPs, councils and thousands ofpassengers, in theNorth have alreadyprotested to theGovernment. Inresponse the RailMinister Clare Perryhas stated,

I wholeheartedly believe inthe benefits of an on-train presence... Suchstaff not only providea friendly face thatpassengers can get toknow but can alsoprovide a sense ofsecurity; deter anti-social behaviour; providepassengers with assistance, including byhelping those with mobilityimpairment or other disability;and help to make sure thatpassengers have the rightfare for their journey. Wewant to make sure thatall of our operatorsprovide these benefitsthrough a reallyeffective staffpresence in order tomeet passengers'needs"

Despite thepublic and politicaloutcry and the seeminglyreassuring response fromthe Rail Minister theDepartment for Transport hasmerely specified that bidders forNorthern Rail must make reasonableendeavours for passengers to have the protection ofa second person in addition to the Driver. Trainswill be allowed to run without a second member ofstaff, if it can be demonstrated that passengers will

be no less safe and secure.This clearly does not guarantee that

passengers will continue to have the benefit of aGuard on board their train in the same way that thecurrent arrangements do. Indeed bidders for theNorthern franchise have said the agreement willallow them to operate trains with only the driver onboard while at the same time deskilling andcasualising the role of the Guard.

If Ministers andcivil servants in Londonwont protect passengersthen NorthernCouncillors and RailNorth should. And as well asmaintaining theoperational role of theGuard they should insistthe Northern and TPEfranchise agreementskeep ticket offices andstation staffing levels toat least their currentlevels and ensure all

stations revenue protection and cleaning staff aredirectly employed.

Rail North also needs tospeak out against the North

being last in the queue fordecent rail services, new

rolling stock andelectrification. Good,moderncommunication linksare essential forpassengers, theeconomy of the Northand our localCommunities.

Councillors should besupporting the opening

of new routes andopposing the governments

proposals to scrap theTranspennine Express services

from Windermere, Barrow-in-Furness and Blackpool North.

Please turn the page to see how you can getin touch with your local councillors and Rail Northcouncillors. n

How can councillors in the North of England protectrail passengers?

25%increase in sexual

assaults on therailway

65%percent of passengersopposed to Driver OnlyOperated Trains

...the proposed new franchise agreement will notmaintain the role of the guard/conductor onNorthern Rail services and therefore weakens theprotection for passengers; northern local authoritiesthrough the Rail North umbrella organisation willhave a key role in overseeing and improving thefranchise; and calls on Rail North to protect rail jobsand passenger safety and service by developing thefranchise agreement to retain the current role of theguard/conductor, keep ticket offices open andensure proper staffing at as many stations aspossible.Parliamentary motion tabled by Northern MPs

Council Rail North Councillor Email PhoneBlackburn with Darwen N/A info@blackburn.gov.uk 01254 585585Borough CouncilBlackpool Borough Council Cllr Simon Blackburn cllr.simon.blackburn@blackpool.gov.uk 01253 477477Cumbria County Council Cllr Stewart Young Stewart.Young@cumbria.gov.uk 01228 606060Lancashire County Council Cllr John Fillis* john.fillis@lancashire.gov.uk 0300 123 6701Cheshire East Council Cllr Michael Jones michael.e.jones@cheshireeast.gov.uk 0300 123 5500Cheshire East Council Cllr David Brown* david.brown@cheshireeast.gov.uk 0300 123 5500Cheshire West and Cllr Mike Jones mike.jones@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk 0300 123 8123Chester Council Staffordshire County Council Cllr Philip Atkins philip.atkins@staffordshire.gov.uk 0300 111 8000Stoke-on-Trent City Council Cllr Mohammed Pervez mohammed.pervez@stoke.gov.uk 01782 234234Stoke-on-Trent City Council Cllr Ruth Rosenau ruth.rosenau@stoke.gov.uk 01782 234234Warrington Borough Council Cllr Terry ONeill toneill@warrington.gov.uk 01925 443322City of York Council Cllr Dafyyd Williams cllr.dwilliams@york.gov.uk 01904 551550 West Yorkshire Combined Cllr Keith Wakefield* keith.wakefield@leeds.gov.uk 0113 251 7272AuthorityWest Yorkshire Combined Cllr Judith Blake judith.blake@leeds.gov.uk 0113 251 7272AuthorityDarlington Borough Council Cllr Bill Dixon* bill.dixon@darlington.gov.uk 01325 380651 Hartlepool Borough Cllr Christopher christopher.akers-belcher@hartlepool.gov.uk 01429 266522Council Akers-BelcherMiddlesbrough Council N/A contactcentre@middlesbrough.gov.uk 01642 245432Redcar and Cleveland N/A contactus@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk N/ABorough CouncilStockton-on-Tees Cllr Robert Cook robert.cook@stockton.gov.uk 01642 393939Borough Council Derbyshire County Council Cllr Anne Western* anne.western@derbyshire.gov.uk 01629 533190 Derbyshire County Council Cllr Dean Collins* dean.collins@derbyshire.gov.uk 01629 533190Lincolnshire County Council Cllr Martin Hill OBE cllrm.hill@lincolnshire.gov.uk 01522 552222Nottingham City Council Cllr Jon Collins officeofcllrjoncollins@nottinghamcity.gov.uk 01159 155555Nottinghamshire County Cllr Alan Rhodes cllr.alan.rhodes@nottscc.gov.uk 03005 008080CouncilEast Riding of Yorkshire Cllr Stephen Parnaby OBE councillor.parnaby@eastriding.gov.uk 01482 393939CouncilHull City Council Cllr Stephen Brady councillor.brady@hullcc.gov.uk 01482 300300Hull City Council Cllr Martin Mancey councillor.mancey@hullcc.gov.uk 01482 300300North East Lincolnshire Cllr Chris Shaw chris.shaw@nelincs.gov.uk 01472 313131CouncilNorth Lincolnshire Cllr Liz Redfern* Cllr.LizRedfern@northlincs.gov.uk 01724 297000CouncilGreater Manchester Sir Richard Leese* r.leese@manchester.gov.uk 01612 343124Combined AuthorityLiverpool City Region Cllr Liam Robinson* liam.robinson@liverpool.gov.uk 01512 330420North East Combined Authority Cllr Nick Forbes* nick.forbes@newcastle.gov.uk 01912 787878North Yorkshire County Council Cllr Chris Metcalfe* cllr.chris.metcalfe@northyorks.gov.uk 01609 534527Sheffield City Region Cllr Julie Dore* julie.dore@sheffield.gov.uk 01142 649950

*Director of Rail North Board

See below to see how you can contact Rail North. You can alsocontact your local councillor at www.writetothem.com Twenty-nine Local Transport Authorities are members of Rail North, and each nominates a Councillor plus one alternate torepresent them on the Association of Rail North Partner Authorities. Authorities are then grouped into 11 areas; each groupnominates one person to act as a Director of Rail North Limited. (Rail North Website correct as of 1 July 2015.)