Industrial reporter @TrinderMatt

RAIL unions mocked the government’s proposed crackdown on noisy train announcements today as “akin to fiddling while Rome burns” amid dwindling services and ballooning fares.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said today that the “endless torrent” of information broadcast on services in England would end, dubbing the plan a “bonfire of the banalities.”

Announcements facing the chop include those which are “banal or contradictory,” such as calls to keep volume levels on electronic devices low while on-board messages “blare out.”

However, RMT slammed the decision as a “PR stunt by this collapsing government” as services prepare for £2 billion worth of cuts and ticket prices rise by nearly 4 per cent. 

General secretary Mick Lynch said: “No-one ever complained about receiving too much information about rail services.

“There’s a real danger that if you axe announcements, you axe the staff making them — and that’s very much in line with the cuts agenda we are geared up to fight.”

TSSA leader Manuel Cortes told the Morning Star: “Frankly this nonsense rather sums up the pitiful level of ambition the Tories have towards our railway industry.

“Tinkering with announcements on trains is — in the face of a growing cost-of-living crisis and ongoing pandemic — akin to fiddling while Rome burns. 

“It’s nothing more than distraction and deflection from a Conservative government intent on slashing billions of pounds from the railways and junking train services. No-one should be fooled.”

The Guide Dogs charity also warned that the proposal could exclude the visually impaired from rail travel. 

Campaigns manager Clive Wood said: “People with sight loss rely on announcements to use trains independently and with confidence, so it’s absolutely vital that accessibility comes first.”