BRITISH RAIL employs a large number of women, oul lney are concentrated in une tramconaily remaie sectors the nromtable ticket collector and NUR mem oer racanizlon station in London, plains what work It is still unusual to see womer al a llall mic sldtion guaras UCKel . Like all women male workforce I found it LOOK llic lu fil ill At first I felt isolated. It's the small things, uke toilets in the staff canteen.
When ı was lleı vIcw' ec tor meloo i was askec if I would get upset if a inbecoming uniforr 100 well. feel yUu nave to orove as d woman you have a right to the job.
after found 1 object of curiosity. People accept you as 'ou are All rail orkers are facing redundancies and t' •destruction of Iae mousiry. SEVe YOlC ll the union, women and has to make their heard demand vuite leaders start the inlal vul Igni back now As electea local representative I can see every day at wo ck that the changing.
Management is preparing lor culs l uie sultllici im oortanl that been scrapped.
British Rail is selling the house to pay the rent. It is putting up fares and cutting back services, but the more it does that the fewer passengers and freight will be carried by rail.
And goes on. Since railways were nationalised in 1948, LICy nave providea an essential service for manufacturing industry. But the government of the day has always colcal o co muss al a muuuld u cosl and now the price has to be paid.
In the 1950s diesel trains were introduced as a stop-gap before electrification, a temporary measure tha is still with us today. The private road lobbv has nad the ear oI successive governments and the refusal to invest has resulted in a run-down. date and potentially unsafe railway system.
Most of BR's diesel fleet is past its 25 vear litespan. Essential renewal oi worn-out tracks has not taken place, alll over nall the track system nas wooden sleepers.
Unsafe At the end of 1979 over 120 miles of track was subject to speed restricbecause it was unsafe for full uols. speed. BR chairperson Peter Parker has torecast inal the end of the decade 3,000 miles of track unusable In anv rational societv a rallway network would be run as a service to carry goods and to transport peopie. boln lor work ana picasure we don't live in such a society. We live in a totally irational one.
High fares and bad service have driven away passengers and freight. Yet a train which is empty much to run as one that is full. Where fares have been reduced in countries, traffic has increased.
British Rail finances more of its costs from its internal tu rail ta any OTOSIT the Public transport in out-of-
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women members, too
have been withdrawn, and the collec- tion and delivery parcels service has