RMT marks anniversary of Tebay rail tragedy
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A rail union is marking the anniversary of an accident which claimed the lives of four track workers.
The tragedy happened 19 years ago when a 16-tonne steel wagon rolled down the West Coast Main Line at Tebay in Cumbria.
The workers who died were members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.
General secretary Mick Lynch said: “We remember these tragedies not only as a mark of respect for our comrades but in order to campaign for proper safety standards, to ensure this never happens again.
“However, despite these tragedies and others, we are having to resist further attacks on safety, with 50% planned reductions in scheduled maintenance tasks, hundreds of job losses and more unsocial shifts.
“The cost-cutting agenda posed by Network Rail’s plans under so-called modernising maintenance represents a threat to safety standards, our members’ wellbeing and to the travelling public.”
Network Rail insists it will never do anything to compromise safety.
