Network Rail’s bosses accused of unacceptable “greed"

[jbilton]

Maria Eagle, the shadow transport secretary, last night accused Network Rail’s bosses of showing unacceptable “greed”.

“In the current economic climate, and with a performance that is far from satisfactory, it is hopelessly out of touch for Network Rail to believe that an £11.7m bonus scheme for senior managers is acceptable,” she said.

“Passengers are facing annual fare rises of 11 per cent a year at a time when people are really struggling to make ends meet. This bonus culture, greed and free and easy attitude to taxpayers money must end.”

The company’s pay plans have been criticised by the rail regulator, which is not yet convinced they offer value for money for the taxpayer.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/ ... cheme.html

Network Rail won praise in February when the company’s leadership agreed to forgo bonuses of more than £300,000 each.
They agreed to put the cash towards improving safety on the railways.
Two months later, the operator was fined £4million over the Grayrigg rail disaster that killed one person and seriously injured 28 others in Cumbria in 2007.
The company is also under pressure over punctuality. It is in danger of a £42million fine unless 92 per cent of train services run on time. Currently it is managing only 89.2 per cent.

Cheers
Jon

[lenfish]

"The company, which runs Britain’s tracks and stations, argues that its top staff are likely to resign unless they are given more money on top of their six-figure salaries."

Same tactics as the bankers and others on this gravy train. About time somebody called their bluff, no one is indispensable.

Regards,

Len

[AndyUK]

...... Same tactics as the bankers and others on this gravy train. About time somebody called their bluff, no one is indispensable.

Indeed. What happened to doing a good job for the pride of it, and sacking those who didn't measure up? It seemed a far cheaper way of getting a good result!

It's not just the 'bosses' that are at it though, the workers have learned from their (bad) example. London Underground Staff seem to have extorted an £850 bonus out of TfL for doing their job during the Olympics and now the London bus drivers are striking for the same.

Andy L

[jbilton]

Hi

I think thats a slightly different issue .... even Boris thinks the Bus drivers should be paid.

"Boris Johnson has backed Olympic bonus payments for London transport workers, insisting that it was only fair that they should be compensated for additional work, at the same time as bus drivers announced new strike dates on 5 and 24 July, the latter only three days before the Games start.

The London mayor made his comments as bus drivers continue their dispute with London operators to secure a £500 payment in line with Transport for London staff. The Unite trade union, representing 21,000 bus workers, is incensed that its members will not receive any extra money: the tube unions have secured an £850 bonus and Boris bike staff on Wednesday were promised a £500 Olympic bonus. Unite announced new strike dates today and warned that industrial action was being "pushed closer and closer towards the Olympics".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012 ... s-olympics

The Bosses of Network Rail are working for an under performing public sector.
Not that a possible £42 million fine will worry them..... its all public money
Personally I think we could move the head offices to somewhere like Newcastle ... and start reducing their wages in line with the preposed regional pay scales......

Cheers
Jon

[AndyUK]

I think thats a slightly different issue .... even Boris thinks the Bus drivers should be paid....

.... a clear indication that he (TfL) wouldn't have to fund it!

Andy L

[jbilton]

London's transport chiefs set for massive bonuses
London’s transport bosses are likley to share a bonus pot in excess of £1 million if the network copes with the Olympics, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Peter Hendy, the Commissioner and six chief officers are each likely to receive six-figure payouts under Transport for London’s incentive scheme.
The disclosure of the vast amounts set to be pocketed by senior executives triggered accusations of hypocrisy from union leaders.
There is already £560,000 in the bonus pot covering 2010-11, which has been put on hold until after the Olympics.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympi ... nuses.html

[jbilton]

Train fares to rise by 6.2% from January

Those who use the train to travel will have to pay on average 6.2% more for their tickets from January, it has been announced.
The decision by government sees the price of fares rise three percentage points above July’s RPI figure.
While 6.2% is the average increase, some operators will be able to hike prices by another 5%, bringing the rise to 11.2%.

http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2012/08/trai ... m-january/

Cheers
Jon

[jbilton]

Rail is a gigantic scam for siphoning off public money

"But it is the system itself that is irrational. Privatisation was supposed to cut public subsidy by boosting competition, investment and innovation.

In fact, it has done the opposite. Government funding has at least doubled in real terms, while fares have also increased, largely because of privatisation – including the costs of fragmentation and duplication; dividend payments to investors; contractors' profit margins; debt write-offs; and higher interest payments to keep Network Rail's debts off the government's balance sheet.

Taken together, those privatisation costs amount to around £1.2bn a year, according to a new thinktank report (Transport for Quality of Life's Rebuilding Rail), while genuine private investment is estimated at barely 1% of the total funding of the railway. It's hardly surprising that the mainly publicly owned rail systems in the rest of Europe – several of which now run bits of Britain's privatised rail – are cheaper.

The solution could not be more obvious. It's to rebuild a publicly owned and integrated railway. That can be done at zero or minimal cost, by bringing back each franchise into public ownership as the contracts expire
Freight apart, it can also be done under EU law, and with built-in local control. And saving the £1.2bn-a-year costs of privatisation over time would be the equivalent of an across-the-board cut in fares of 18%.

Rail renationalisation has long commanded large majorities in opinion polls. So you might imagine politicians would fall over themselves to sign up to a policy that's popular and saves money. The fact that they don't says something about the continuing grip of discredited ideology and corporate interests on Britain's political culture. Even a respected public transport pressure group like the Campaign for Better Transport, which now relies on funding from privatised transport companies, shies away from campaigning on the issue."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... -ownership

Well we already knew this .....

Cheers
Jon

[faedundee2]

Doesn't help when Network Rail are spending money on useless projects such as the ERTMS on the Cambrian that has caused more problems than it solves, and the G-SMR roll out is taking longer than most anticipated....