Chester Railway Station to close once more as rail strike action to resume

The biggest rail strike in decades began on Tuesday as members of the RMT union walked out over job cuts, conditions, pay and pensions.

Union members include guards, signallers, catering staff and cleaners, without who the train network cannot operate safely.

Chester RMT Branch members holding strike action near Chester Railway station on Tuesday. Pictures: Ray McHale.

For example, while technically Merseyrail train drivers have not been on strike this week, the lack of support staff on the network has meant no Merseyrail services could run safely on lines in Chester, Ellesmere Port and Liverpool.

RMT say the offer of a 2% pay rise, with the possibility of a further 1%, was unacceptable, pointing to soaring inflation rates and the cost of living crisis. The union also says network rail plans to axe 2,500 maintenance jobs, a figure disputed by the rail operator, which said there would be no more than 2,000 job losses, and all of them could be voluntary.

Chester RMT Branch members holding strike action near Chester Railway station on Tuesday. Pictures: Ray McHale.

As the strike action affects Merseyrail, Transport for Wales, Avanti West Coast and Northern rail services, it means that – like on Tuesday – no services will be calling at Chester Railway Station on Thursday.

Chester Railway Station will effectively be closed on Thursday.

A limited service is expected to return on Friday, before a further day of strike action is planned for Saturday – meaning people outside the city looking to travel in for Saturday's Chester Races fixture will need to find alternative travel arrangements.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps rebuffed calls for Government intervention in the dispute, saying he was not planning to meet unions as that was for employers to do.

Chester RMT Branch members holding strike action near Chester Railway station on Tuesday. Pictures: Ray McHale.

Separately, hundreds of Merseyrail staff have today (Wednesday) agreed a 7.1% pay rise offer, following discussions between management and the TSSA.

TSSA members in general grades at Merseyrail voted overwhelmingly (by 94 per cent) to accept the deal, with members in management grades being offered the same terms. The offer for general grades will be backdated to the first Sunday in April 2022 and, if accepted, the management grades pay will be applicable from 1 July.

TSSA members in Merseyrail include station retailers, customer relations assistants, lead revenue protection officers, train crew admin assistants, driver managers, guards standards managers, stations managers, service production managers, resource controllers, train service delivery managers, colleagues in fleet, safety, finance, HR, IT and transformation.

They are based in the company's head office in Liverpool Rail House as well as locations like Aintree Station, Birkenhead Central Station, Birkenhead North Train Crew Depot, James Street station, Kirkdlae Depot, Liverpool Central Station, Sandhills IECC, Southport Station, West Kirkby Station.

The union said it accepted an offer based on the November RPI rate of 7.1 per cent because this was consistent with the pay offered to other grades with a pay anniversary date falling at that point in the calendar.

Commenting, union leader Manuel Cortes said: “Well done to our members and to our union staff for clinching this deal at Merseyrail. It is a sensible outcome to a reasonable offer which goes a long way towards keeping pace with the escalating cost of living.

“What we have seen in our negotiations with Merseyrail is a company which knows the value of our rail and transport network, both to the public and the workers.

“What this clearly shows is our union, and sister unions, are in no way a block on finding the solutions needed to avoid a summer of discontent on the railways. Rather, it is the government who are intent on digging in their heels.

“The offer from Merseyrail will demonstrate to the entire country that Ministers are set on a course of needless and nonsensical intransigence which benefits no one.

“Grant Shapps and co would be wise to wake up and start talking seriously to our union as we ballot for industrial action on our railways up and down the land.”

Merseyrail is controlled by the Liverpool city region combined Authority and is not part of the national rail franchise system.