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Network Rail, which is responsible for renewing and replacing tracks, is cutting almost 500 jobs of workers who carry out track replacement.
TSSA, the union which represents technical staff, warned yesterday that extending the life of the tracks could cause increase “the likelihood of catastrophic rail failure due to unaddressed metal fatigue.”
General secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “Under these changes, rail and ballast that would otherwise be considered life-expired will be left in service for years to come, creating wholly unnecessary safety risks.
“The potential consequences of a sudden catastrophic rail failure under a train travelling at high speed are truly terrifying.”
She said TSSA would challenge the cuts.
A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “We know there’s going to be lower demand for the specialist track renewal services we offer in the next five years as we invest in our infrastructure in other ways.”
She said consultations had started to “restructure and resize some of our teams accordingly.”
