that Crosland was a 'bloody liar' cent correct.
Healey's White Paper confirmed rail workers worst fears, that the rail network could well be slashed from its present 11,000 miles to 4,000 by 1981. The effect on jobs will be devastating. Out of the present 265,000 workers, just 95,000 will remain. Ten years ago there were nearly 450,000 jobs on the railways (sce graph) before Beeching's axe swing. The new cuts are Beechingism gone mad.
It is the Government's target figure of a cut in spending on roads and transport of £506 million by 1978-79 which makes such a possibility a probability. Already the Railways Board has been told by the Department of the Environment that investment is to be fixed at £238 million from 1978 onwards, even though £360 million a year is needed just to maintain existing SCIVICES In addition the railway passenger subsidy has been fixed at £257 million at 1975 prices, which can only mean further huge rises in fares; and Government subsidies to railway goods services are being phased out. In the current year these are worth £62.9 million. By the time they are phased out in 1977-78 they will be worth just £14.3 million.
The 17 per cent fare increase from 28 March, following total increases of 50 per cent last year, will drive yet more passengers away from the railways. The whole rail system has been put in a vicious circle of cutbacks, increasing costs, falling traffic, leading to further cutbacks and so on. 'Stories which have appeared in the press in recent days about massive cuts to the rail network are a load of codswallop.' So declared Anthony Crosland to the House of Commons on 16 December 1975 as angry railway workers milled around outside protesting against the threat of rail cuts. Sid Weighell retorted and for once the General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen was 100 per 1963 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 PASSENGER/MILES: 10 years steady FREIGHT/MILES: 10 years steady 45U JOBS: 10 years There is nothing inevitable about this. It was built into the rail system when it was nationalised by the post-war Labour Government. Shareholders were granted compensation in the form of government stock guaranteeing three per cent income.
In 1949 this cost the newly nationalised industry over £44 million in interest charges. In its first few years an operating profit was wiped out by interest payments averaging £50 million a year.
Then the Tories had a go. They introduced a pricing policy that made the railways a cheap service for manufacturing industry. It became a common carrier, while the by now re-privatised road haulage companies got the pick of the profItable loads. our's Transport Act removed the grosser restrictions, that the railways once again began to show an operating profit. But interest charges simply wiped these out:
OPERATING PROFIT 1969 £56.2m 1970 £51.7m 1971 £30.2m £24.9m 1973 £ 5.7m den of interest payments, it is not known how much the high proportion of freight charges fixed by contract -therefore having to be negotiated - has cost the railways. The final of slaughter stupidity, of course, is that the railways have been in continual and wasteful competition with other forms of public transport and private haulage.
to prevent the cuts and launch a policy:
lished by the three rail unions to every depot and shunting yard, to fight the cuts through the opening of the Railways Board books to show the extent of the planned cuts and prepare a workers alternative.
2. Build links with workers in the private haulage and passenger transport sector to campaign for a single nationalised industry under workers control.
interest charges and midden subsidies to private industry.
of the railways and bus unions should instruct their members not to collect any increase (this has already been discussed as a possible form of action by te ran umons executives).
5. The ten Labour MPs sponsored by the National Union of Railwaymen should be instructed to vote against Healey's White Paper or lose their sponsorship.
JAMES HURST It was not until 1968, when LabINTEREST £41.5m CLOSUICS. £42.2m £45.6m Urgent £51.1m £57.3m In addition to the crippling bur- with any price increase Five vital steps have to be taken real fight for an integrated transport 1. Extend the joint committee estabAkers COLL 3. The immediate cancellation of all 4. No more fare rises. The executives