Train passengers at Newcastle Central Station have had their say on strike action by the RMT union which is causing chaos for travellers across the country.
Thousands of staff employed by Network Rail and 13 train operators are on picket lines today in a dispute over jobs, pay and conditions. The workers, who are part of the RMT union, are holding three days of industrial action this week and are due to walk out again on Thursday, June 23 and Saturday, June 25.
Inside Newcastle Central Station it was eerily quiet on Tuesday morning (June 21) as the first day of strike action saw the majority of services cancelled, with passengers urged not to travel. But outside of the station, it was a different story, as dozens of RMT union members stood on picket lines waving flags and banners.
READ MORE: Why rail workers are on strike and what the RMT has been offered to settle dispute
The RMT says operators and Network Rail are proposing new pay rates that do not rise in line with inflation and that rail operators are looking to bring in job cuts which could include compulsory redundancies.
Steve Montgomery, Chair of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “We ask the RMT’s leadership to call off these damaging strikes and continue talks to reach a deal that is fair to staff and taxpayers."
Chronicle Live spoke to passengers travelling to and from Newcastle Central Station to find out how their journey had been affected and their thoughts on the strike.
George Charlton, 54, from South Shields, was getting the train from Newcastle to London early on Tuesday morning for work. He was glad that his train was one of the few that had not been cancelled but said he was in support of the strike action.
"I'm going down to London for work," he said.
"I wasn't anxious about setting off. I am totally in support of the strike."
Ed Robinson, 25, who works in academic publishing had got the train from Durham to Newcastle on Tuesday morning. He was surprised with how straightforward his journey was after anticipating severe disruption.
"I got the train from Durham to Newcastle this morning and it was OK," he said.
"It was quite busy at Durham station but you wouldn't have known there is a strike on. I know there is serious disruption [across the service] but everything seemed OK there.
"I am pro-strike because I think the staff are underpaid and overworked. It does make life a little bit difficult, but it is for the greater good."
Jessica W, 22, is a sales executive at Revolution Bars and was travelling from Durham to Manchester airport to fly to Venice on a work trip. She had to change her plans and get a lift from a friend outside of the station after trains were cancelled.
"I got the train from Durham to Newcastle at around 10.20am this morning and it was quite busy," she said.
"I was originally going to get the train to Manchester Aiport but because of the strike, my friend is going to pick me up from the station and drive me down. It is a work trip and some of the other girls' trains were cancelled so they had to go down to Manchester last night.
"I know there has been a lot of disruption [and] I know people are angry at the Government for not doing anything to stop the strike.
"[But] am in support of it. I think it is understandable. There is obviously something going wrong somewhere [for workers to strike.]"
Twin sisters Abigail and Georgia Platts, 29, were getting the train home to London from Newcastle after visiting family and said their journey had been unaffected by the strike.
"We are getting the 10.58am LNER train to London," Abigail said.
"We don't know exactly what is going on with the strike," Georgia added.
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