SCOTLAND's rail services face being brought to a summer standstill as thousands of railway workers ballot for strike action as safety concerns surface over plans to cut hundreds of critical maintenance jobs.
The fears come as unions warned there remains 200 existing vacancies in maintenance delivery in Scotland which they say is affecting passenger safety in the wake of the Stonehaven rail crash of 2020 which claimed the lives of three people.
Network Rail, which owns the nation's rail tracks, stations and signals and track and key players in cross-border services LNER, Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express and Cross Country Trains are among the major train operators who would be hit if their is a yes vote in a strike ballot involving 40,000 workers across the UK.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) say it would be the biggest rail strike in modern history.
The union says Network Rail is planning to cut at least 2,500 safety-critical maintenance jobs as part of a £2 billion reduction in spending, including hundreds north of the border. Meanwhile workers have been subject to pay freezes and changes to their terms and conditions.
Strike action could begin in June if workers vote to walkout in the ballot running from April 26 to May 24.
The RMT union in Scotland has told the Herald that a strike would not just hit cross-border services but the running of operations across Scotland, including ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper services.
That is because among those being balloted are safety-critical workers including signallers employed by Network Rail who are crucial to keep trains running.
The Rail Delivery Group has said any strike would put at risk the post-Covid recovery.
Network Rail say that they would not commit to changes that made rail travel unsafe.
RMT Scottish regional organiser Gordon Martin warned that Network Rail were "butchering" the workforce in Scotland while the existing vacancies in maintenance delivery in Scotland was already affecting passenger safety.
It comes just a month after investigators found a series of failures contributed to the rail crash near Stonehaven.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch probe found the accident happened when the train hit a landslide in August 2020 after heavy rain in an area which claimed three lives.
The drainage system was installed in 2011 and 2012 by now-collapsed contractor Carillion - but it was not in accordance with the design.
And investigators found no evidence Network Rail carried out any inspection of the upper parts of the drainage system between when it viewed the completed work in 2013 and the accident.
Mr Martin said he has told the transport minister that the Scottish Government should be involved in sorting out the issues.
"A strike would have a huge impact on the people of Scotland," he said. "To cut jobs while there are existing vacancies mean there are real safety fears for the travelling public.
"Cut any more, and you have already seen the effects with a infrastructure failure in the Stonehaven derailment.
"They are real concerns and we have raised them with this minister and previous ministers so they cannot say they haven't been warned."
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Railway workers have had to contend with pay freezes, the prospect of losing their jobs and repeated attacks on their terms and conditions. Removing 2,500 safety-critical jobs from Network Rail will spell disaster for the public, make accidents more likely and will increase the possibility of trains flying off the tracks.
“Train operating companies have praised our members for being key workers during the pandemic but have refused to keep staff pay in line with inflation and soaring living costs. As a result, thousands of railway workers have seen their living standards plummet and have run out of patience.
“The way for trade unions to effectively take on the cost-of-living crisis is to stand up for their members at work and take industrial action when employers are not moved by the force of reasoned argument. A national rail strike will bring the country to a standstill, but our members’ livelihoods and passenger safety are our priorities.”
The ballot will also involve RMT members on Chiltern Railways, Greater Anglia, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South Eastern Railway, South Western Railway, Island Line, GTR (including Gatwick Express) and West Midlands Trains.
Tim Shoveller, Network Rail's regional director, said: "Our railway has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and even as passenger numbers start to recover, we know travel habits and passenger demand have changed and the industry has to change too.
"We cannot keep relying on Government handouts, and so we must work together with train operators and our trades unions to save millions of pounds and deliver a more efficient railway.
"We are disappointed that the RMT has taken this decision and urge them again to work with us, not against us, as we build an affordable railway fit for the future."
A Rail Delivery Group spokesman said: “The pandemic was an unprecedented shock for the railway, with the lowest passenger numbers in over 150 years and record levels of public funding to keep it running. Our whole focus now should be securing a thriving future for rail that adapts to new travel patterns and takes no more than its fair share from taxpayers, instead of staging premature industrial action which would disrupt passengers’ lives and put the industry's recovery at risk.
"For the sake of our people and everyone who relies on our railway every day, we want the RMT to work with us to bring how we run our services up to date so that it is more reliable, more affordable and inspires more passengers back on board.”
A Network Rail spokesman said: "Our modernisation programme aims to build a sustainable future that delivers for passengers and creates better and safer jobs for our people. We would not consider any changes that would make the railway less safe.
“We are disappointed that the RMT has taken this decision and urge them again to work with us, not against us, as we build an affordable railway fit for the future."
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