UK rail unions dismiss claim that usage is in decline and cuts are needed

theguardian.com:

Rail unions have dismissed the government’s claim that big savings are needed because of a permanent decline in use since the pandemic, citing official data that showed demand creeping above 90% of pre-pandemic levels during some days late last month.

Aslef, the train drivers’ union, is demanding a meeting with transport secretary Grant Shapps to discuss the future of the industry, stating that ministers are opting for “grandstanding” over an acceptable, gradual plan to modernising the railways.

Shapps has previously said that Covid “changed travel habits” and that ticket sales were down 25%. He has said that the taxpayer is keeping the railway running at a cost equivalent to £600 a household.

However, Simon Weller, the union’s assistant general secretary, said that it was “nonsense” to suggest that the railways would not recover to pre-pandemic levels. “What they’re saying, that the railway is irrecoverable and that working from home has completely changed the landscape of the railway, is not being borne out by the facts,” he said. “The government’s own figures are saying it’s returned to 92% on some weekdays. What we’ve also seen is a big increase in leisure weekend travel.

“There is another aspect in other parts of the country. Some operators have reduced their timetables to about 75%. This is because they haven’t got an agreement for train drivers to work overtime. The reason there’s been a reduction isn’t because there’s a reduction in footfall – there’s a reduction of available resources to actually run the timetable. Pre-pandemic, I would say that 15% of the trains [were running] on overtime.”

He said that the union now needed to “talk to the minister” because of a lack of progress over new pay deals with some rail