Without militant railroad unions, there might be no viable rail network to speak of today.
They stop the parasitic excesses of a system that has been reconfigured to prioritize profit extraction by private companies over the needs of passengers.
delayed repayment
The most obvious example is the delayed repayment system. Passengers are entitled to a full or partial refund from the train operator when a train is canceled or delayed.
With frequent train interruptions, you might question how some trains are profitable.
Haines-Doran detailed that 60% of the delays were actually caused by Network Rail rather than the train company itself, in which case the former would automatically compensate the latter before passing it on to passengers.
However, 63% of passenger compensation went unclaimed because many passengers were unaware of the scheme, or many refunds were only a few pounds. This means train companies are actually making £1.1bn a year from delays.
A failing rail system is clearly more profitable than a functioning rail system.
just transition
After listing these serious systemic flaws, Haynes-Dolan’s major conceptual innovation was the idea of a just transition for railroads.
just transition The American labor movement that emerged in the 1980s Regulations come as air and water pollution threaten jobs.Although it is most commonly used in association with the need A Just Transition from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy.
By applying a just transition to railroads, Haines-Doran puts the climate emergency at the center of the debate on fixing rail systems. He also stretches the notion of a just transition to an abstract level that feels synonymous with “socially just climate policy” rather than specifics about worker protections.
While rail workers are undoubtedly a strategically important workforce in the climate transition, the risks to them arise primarily from the neoliberal status quo rather than from a paradigm shift that would amplify the sector.
On the one hand, I question the applicability of the concept of a just transition in this context. On the other hand, we have to remember that any moment of economic upheaval—both expansionary and contractionary—can be used to erode workers’ rights and conditions.
future
What would such an upheaval look like? Haynes-Dolan and I clearly share a commitment to rapid decarbonisation, revitalizing the rail network, public ownership and empowering trade unions. However, we disagree on some details.
Given the rise of working from home, he advocates reducing overall travel demand as part of a paradigm shift. Given how busy trains are post-pandemic, I don’t believe this trend will last, let alone be satisfactory. Travel is good, we should promote it more, just in a low-carbon way.
Relatedly, given the limitations of our “carbon budget,” Haines-Doran argues for focusing on improving our existing rail network, adding only limited parts. on the contrary, I advocate the vision of public luxury by investing in high-speed rail between cities and countries.
The economic mobilization required for decarbonization will require initial investment and resource utilization in the short term. The payoff is long-term because we have the infrastructure that fits our ecological conditions.
Rail travel is a joy. Our thesis should be faster, cheaper and possible between every conceivable location. If we’re going to get people out of their cars, we’re going to need more trains and tracks to keep them on the move.
organize
How will we win such a system? As we continue to recoil from the failure of Corbynism, Haynes-Dolan is understandably concerned about the limits of left-wing electoralism.
Instead, he advocates joint passenger campaigns with those focused on other modes of transport, such as buses. He is particularly interested in the “no pay” campaign, which promotes rejected tickets.The most prominent examples of which are recent movement related to the energy bill.
if derailed Blind spots around grassroots campaigns, lack of consideration for high profile opponent railway construction.
So-called environmentalists using direct action to resist HS2 should be of concern to anyone calling for investment in rail expansion.
How we reconcile this reactionary orientation of environmentalism with a political alliance interested in social and ecological progress is a difficult but crucial question.
nation
Given the failure of Corbynism and the destruction of workplace and community organizing by neoliberal capitalism, there is a clear need for new alliances and innovative grassroots organizing models.
However, if our aim is to transform Britain’s transport system as part of a historic paradigm shift, we cannot abandon the country as a battleground.
As I say in my book, Burning Down: Fighting for Climate JusticeThe state is the only political institution capable of managing climate change at the scale and urgency required
Whether we seek to seize state power or influence it from the outside, the question of how we use it to support a rail system that serves people and the planet is inevitable.
the author
Chris Saltmarsh is co-founder of Labor for a Green New Deal and Burning Down: Fighting for Climate Justice.
