NEWS

Cuts spark third class service fear

Fears were raised last night of a "third-class" East Anglian rail service as it was revealed that more than 300 jobs could be lost at the region's leading train company.

The proposed cuts, made public by a rail staff union, will include up to 73 at National Express East Anglia's Norwich call centre, which will be closed.

And, in a blow to thousands of commuters and day-trippers who use the Norwich to London route, the popular restaurant cars will be axed.

According to information released by the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA), National Express is planning to cut 314 jobs in total across the Anglia region, despite recently announcing a 9pc increase in revenue year on year.

Ninety-four staff are employed at the call centre on Prince of Wales Road. Of those, 21 will transfer to a customer service centre at Thorpe Station in Norwich.

Another 72 vacancies will not be filled, while the remainder of the cuts will be spread throughout the company, mainly among administrative workers.

TSSA general secretary Gerry Doherty said: "We are surprised at the size of the cuts, given that National Express only announced three weeks ago that its rail revenues have increased 9pc in the past 12 months.

"With pre-tax profits of £90m last year, it looks as though the firm is anticipating a serious downturn in the coming recession. This is a bad blow for the eastern region, which is suffering higher unemployment like all other regions in the country."

A National Express spokesman would not confirm the overall figures, but said: "We can confirm we are proposing to close our Norwich call centre, which may lead to a reduction of 73 roles in Norwich.

"We are also planning to make changes to the way we provide food and drink on board the Norwich to London trains in response to changing customer needs.

"We are proposing to remove the restaurant service, and improve our buffet and at-seat service. Also, as any sensible business does, we are constantly reviewing the structure of the business.

"We are undertaking a review to give greater focus on customer service and operational delivery. Our people are being fully consulted and the outcomes are being shaped by consultation with trade unions and elected staff representatives.

"While these consultations are taking place, we are unable to confirm the total number affected by the review at this time."

It is understood that the restaurant cars will cease to operate on the Norwich to London line from December 19, with most of the chefs and stewards being made redundant.

Norwich North MP Dr Ian Gibson, a regular user of the Norwich to London service, including the restaurant car, said: "I think this is a tragedy. Any job cuts at this stage in the development of transport in East Anglia are bad news.

"Just when we finally get the good news about the A11 being dualled, we hear this. It cannot possibly mean the service will be getting any better. Staff are essential for keeping trains on time, collecting tickets and other services.

"I don't understand the basis for this. It's a bolt from the blue. The service will be third class."

North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb said the job losses as well as the axing of the restaurant car, in a time when people should be encouraged to use public transport more, were a great pity. "This line is already a second-class service in many respects," he said. "We had to have the old vehicles for the whole of this franchise when other services had new ones so we have now got poorer reliability than other lines and now we are losing our catering service. The promised improvement of the buffet does not make up for this.

"Instead of seeing an improvement we are seeing a deterioration and for those of us campaigning for a high- quality service from Norfolk linking us to the capital city, this is more bad news."