Campaigners aim to save rail jobs

National Express East Anglia has announced up to 300 jobs are to be cut

A union is to open the new year with a campaign aimed at halting plans to cut hundreds of rail jobs.

The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has criticised National Express East Anglia over plans to axe 300 jobs when it is increasing fares by 6%.

The train company runs services from Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk into London.

A spokesman for the train firm said consultation with unions and passenger groups on changes was still continuing.

The union warns cuts will leave stations unstaffed, reduce help for disabled passengers and "destroy" on-board catering facilities.

The RMT will begin their campaign early in the New Year by sending postcards describing the consequences of cuts to passengers, MPs and other influential people.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "National Express will increase fares by 6% on East Anglia trains, despite the group raking in huge profits and handing shareholders £40m in dividends in the first half of this year alone.

"Yet at the same time the company wants to cut more than 300 East Anglia jobs.

Reviewing the business

"This can only result in a worse service to passengers who are already paying through the nose for it, as well as a bleak future for railway workers who actually get out there and do the work.

"For a company that promised to enhance passenger service when it took on the franchise that is unacceptable.

"We hope that passengers will join us in telling National Express that their rail services are more important than shareholders' bank balances."

A National Express East Anglia spokesman said: "As any sensible business does, we are continually reviewing the structure of the business.

"We are undertaking this review to give greater focus on customer service and operational delivery.

"The proposals are currently being shaped through consultation with our people and the trade unions."