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Responding to plans announced by Transport Secretary Justine Greening today (Thursday) outlining how the government plans to cut the budget for spending on the railways by billions of pounds, TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady said:

“Closing ticket offices and cutting station staff and train crews is not what passengers want and will make conditions worse for both commuters and rail staff.

date: 8 March 2012

embargo: For immediate release

Responding to plans announced by Transport Secretary Justine Greening today (Thursday) outlining how the government plans to cut the budget for spending on the railways by billions of pounds, TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady said:

'Closing ticket offices and cutting station staff and train crews is not what passengers want and will make conditions worse for both commuters and rail staff.

'Surveys by Passenger Focus consistently show that station and train staff are valued by passengers for their help with ticket sales, journey advice, safety and security, general assistance and reassurance.

'Private train operating companies will now have more freedom to raise fares and cut services, and passengers will be rightly concerned about the implications of this - particularly in rural areas.

'There are real fears about safety as jobs are cut in signalling and maintenance, and Network Rail becomes increasingly aligned with the interests of private train operators.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Gibson T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07900 910624 E: egibson@tuc.org.uk

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