Minister calls for rethink on rail network outsourcing

Railway leaders should “think afresh” about outsourcing contracts and try torun services better, the rail minister has said, as union research indicated six major private suppliers made £150m in profits last year.

- Gwyn Topham

Rail unionsare campaigning toend the widespread outsourcing of jobs suchas cleaning, security and catering, arguing that staff employed by third-party companies have worse conditions and that profits could be reinvested in the railway.

Analysis by the RMT union estimated that six of the biggest UK facilities management companies inrail - Mitie, OCS, Bidvest Noonan, Churchill, Carlisle and ABM - have profit margins on contracts averaging 11%, aggregating profits of £152m in the past year across the national railway and the London Underground.