Rail safety demo

HUNDREDS OF people joined a march and rally over rail safety in central London last Saturday. The protest was called by the Safety on the Trains Action Group, which includes families of those who died in the Southall and Paddington rail crashes, and was supported by the RMT, ASLEF and TSSA rail unions. Among the speakers was Mick Rix, general secretary of ASLEF, who threatened industrial action unless the government moves to bring in the ATP safety system which could have prevented both Southall and Paddington.

MPs Tony Benn and Ken Livingstone also addressed the Trafalgar Square rally, as did Socialist Worker editor Chris Harman. In a moving speech, Gill, whose husband was killed in the Southall crash, told the rally that ‘safety has been compromised for profit’.