Rail Strike To Hit Saddleworth Services
A train passes through Saddleworth. Stopping services are going to be affected by the strike.
Trains which stop at Mossley, Greenfield and Marsden won’t be operating on 27 and 28 December, because of strike action by Northern Rail staff.
Members of the RMT Union are taking action after being denied extra payments for working on the two days. They are both public holidays this year because Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on Saturday and Sunday.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said in a statement: “The spirit of old Scrooge is alive and well on Northern Rail and our conductor members have shown in this ballot that they will not be treated as second-class citizens this Christmas.”
He continued: “The boardroom is awash with cash and it is outrageous that staff are being told to work these additional Christmas public holidays at flat rate while the Northern Rail shareholders are relaxing in front of the telly with the warm feeling that £80 million in dividend payments brings.”
In response, Northern Rail has announced that a limited service will operate on some of its routes. But the stopping services between Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, which are the trains which use our local stations, aren’t on that list.
The company’s Managing Director, Ian Bevan, issued a statement of his own saying: “We are very disappointed that the RMT is going ahead with strike action when only 361 of 976 conductors voted for a strike.”
He added: “We have said all along that we will honour the existing agreements that we have with the trade union, and we are always willing to hold further talks.”
You can read more from Bob Crow in a Press Association article here. Northern Rail’s statement is here.
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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This is a real shame, as Northern Rail seem to be coping so well in these troubled times that not only can they afford to run two purely decorative carriages on these services, but also apparently employ additional conductors solely to ensure that passengers do not sully these pristine empty carriages with their presence.
As a TransPennine employee living in Greenfield, I object to the photograph used for this article. It is a TPE train shown, not a Northern service. TPE trains do not stop in Saddleworth, and as far as I’m aware, will not be subject to industrial action.
Satyr – Fair point, and I’m sorry for any confusion, but I merely used the image to illustrate a generic train going through Saddleworth. I think the article makes it clear that it is only Northern Rail stopping services which will be affected.
Thanks for the clarification Richard. It is a difficult time for all train operating companies and Network Rail, with all staff working as hard as possible to minimise disruption to all customers.
Andy – From your description, it sounds like the 2 unused coaches were defective and were attached to the rear of another service to be returned to depot for corrective maintainence. The additional member of traincrew on board the defective unit is a safety requirement laid down in the rulebook, to deal with any further problems enroute.
Hi Satyr
As a regular on Northern Rail, I can assure you that Andy isn’t wrong. It’s a frequent occurence that trains travel with 4 carriages but passengers are only allowed into two of them. A variety of excuses are offered, from size of platform to number of staff available. The excuses would be plausible if the behaviour was consistent – but it isn’t. Sometimes, we are allowed to get on the carriages. Sometimes there is one member of staff, sometimes there are two. Sometimes the conductor goes from one set to the other set when the platform is long enough (e.g. at Staly), giving the lie to the idea that a staff member is required in both sets. I could go on – and I daresay Andy, and others, will!
You only don’t believe this because you are lucky enough to work for TPE.
Totally agree with Andy and Jenny, and anyone else who gets the 8.03am to Manchester each weekday morning. Bad weather notwithstanding, for the past 2 mornings Northern rail have skimped on carriages and sent just two instead of the usual four.
I suppose there is no chance of Northern Rail using any of these profits to invest in new carriages that can fit everyone on? Passengers in both Stalybridge and Ashton have had to miss this train due to it pulling into the station full up.
As far as i’m aware the best asset Northern Rail have is Richelle Walsh, the station assistant at Greenfield – friendly, polite and informative – the management should have her running the company…
will there be any bus replacements at all?
Drago – No. Bus replacements will only be operating on routes where engineering works were already planned.