UK Rail Union Sees Thousands Of Job Losses, Operational Cuts

21st Jul 2010 14:02

LONDON (Dow Jones)--The U.K.'s rail infrastructure and operations face "catastrophic cuts" if the government reduces the network's budget, the leading transport union said Wednesday. "If reductions on the scale being projected are forced on the transport budget we have no doubt that it will mean thousands of job losses and catastrophic cuts to rail infrastructure and operations with lethal consequences," said Rail, Maritime & Transport union leader Bob Crow. "RMT will continue to mobilize to fight those cuts." The U.K. government has said that expenditure on rail projects will be re-assessed as it attempts to plug a budget deficit estimated at 11% of gross domestic product for the fiscal year ending 2011. Network rail, which owns and operates the U.K.'s rail network, is a private company operating as a commercial business regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation. It doesn't operate timetabled train services. Union website: www.rmt.org.uk -London bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 78 42 9330; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 21, 2010 09:02 ET (13:02 GMT)