| Fears of union control over rail |
 THE NSW Government's decision to bring the state rail network under its control has raised concerns that union bosses will exert a heavy influence over the state's public transport network.
Premier Nathan Rees announced yesterday that the commercial management board responsible for RailCorp would be abolished and control returned to the state Government in an attempt to boost accountability and service performance.
NSW Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell criticised the move, saying it would do nothing to improve services and might leave the rail industry at the mercy of the unions.
"Changing the driver won't fix the train after 13 years of neglect," Mr O'Farrell said, describing the move as a diversion from Labor's "mismanagement" of the state rail network.
He said Labor's decisions to reduce maintenance spending, delay replacing trains and grant protection to rail unions had hurt commuters, who would now be beholden to the unions.
"Nathan Rees has basically handed over the keys of the rail network to the union bosses," Mr O'Farrell said.
But the Opposition Leader's claims were dismissed by Rail Tram and Bus Union secretary Nick Lewocki.
He said the change would benefit the travelling public, rather than union members.
Mr Lewocki said the restructure would improve aspects of rail travel such as timetables, overcrowding, security and staffing at stations.
RailCorp's standards had slipped when the management focused on slashing jobs and cutting costs to suit the state Treasury, instead of providing better services, he said.
The Premier defended the decision, saying RailCorp was in need of government control and had become "a law unto itself".
"RailCorp was operating as a business -- not as a service delivery arm of the Government," he said.
"It wasn't good enough, so we've changed it."
The Australian
Additional reporting: AAP
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