THE RMT says it is preparing to hold a strike ballot in protest at the continuing uncertainty over the award of the next Intercity West Coast franchise.
The DfT is making contingency plans in case Virgin's legal challenge prevents completion of the contract with FirstGroup in time for a transfer on 9 December, and the union said thousands of staff have been left in doubt about whether they will still have a job.
ASLEF, meanwhile, has released the results of a survey which claims that 70 per cent of those asked supported a return of the railways to public ownership.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said; "The fiasco over West Coast has left staff and the travelling public without a clue as to who will be running this key transport artery in little more than ten weeks time. It is still not out of the question that there will be no one to run it if the Government don’t stop messing about and accept that, with the clock ticking down, they need to get on with the public sector option as a matter of urgency or risk a total meltdown.
“Transfer of staff and operations cannot be done overnight and with DOR on the East Coast tried and tested it is simply the Government’s entrenched opposition to public control, even though it is now supported by 70 per cent of the British people, that is stopping them getting on with this logical and urgent option for the West Coast route.
“The case for renationalisation is now overwhelming as a key route in the nation that gave the railways to the world is dragged down to a laughing stock by the insane privatisation process. The public sector stepped in and rescued the East Coast and rather than waiting for history to repeat itself we are calling for the safe and logical publicly-owned option to now be given an opportunity to sort the West Coast debacle.”
ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan added: 'It would be a democratic and practical step in the right direction to declare now that no franchise will be renewed when it ends. This would cost the public nothing, and would ensure that rail fares and profits benefit the travelling public, rather than shareholders and speculators."
The growing calls for renationalisation have also been supported by delegates at the TUC conference at Brighton this week, who voted unanimously for an end to the present system after hearing that the railway had become a 'gigantic scam' which was a 'cash cow for government and private operators'.
The new transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has not indicated that a change of railway policy is being considered, and has said several times this week that he intends to sign off the FirstGroup West Coast contract as soon as possible.
FirstGroup told Railnews that it has already signed, but the contract will not be complete until the Government signs as well. The company has also said that it is continuing to mobilise in preparation for a takeover on 9 December as planned.