Rail strike: Bristol staff say replacing them is dangerous

Commuters would be "mad" to travel by train if employees were replaced by agency staff, according to a union.

"I wouldn't travel on the railway if that were the case - safety is paramount," said Amanda Testa, RMT Bristol branch secretary.

Members of the RMT union at Network Rail and 13 train operators begun three days of strike action on Tuesday.

The Department for Transport said any plans to reform laws around industrial action would only be done safely.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union's (RMT) national secretary Darren Procter joined members demonstrating outside Bristol Temple Meads on the first day of action.

He said the strikes were about issues including "terms and conditions, protection of jobs, pensions", and were "an inconvenience to our members" as well as train users.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "The Transport Secretary has said many times that any plans to reform laws around industrial action would be done to allow those with transferrable skills to work in areas that align with their skills and only if safe to do so."

Ryan, 28, a train guard on the picket line in Bristol expressed confusion at the Government's plan to replace railway staff with agency workers to break the strikes.

The guard said training generally takes six months to be deemed competent in his role.

"If they can't train them up for the required amount of time, it is going to leave us with unsafe railways, where the passengers are at risk, the staff are at risk and the infrastructure is at risk," he added.

Phil Rice, 49, was travelling home from Liverpool to Chippenham in Wiltshire on Monday night.

"I think I will have to get a train to Stafford, then on to Reading and then from Reading to Chippenham.

"When I booked the tickets last week the staff at my local station said they had no concrete evidence the strike would go ahead," he explained.

Dan Panes, spokesperson for Great Western Railway, said: "We need to sit down with the RMT and hash out a deal because that's the only way this is going to be solved."

Meanwhile, Castle Cary station in Somerset has been busier than some, serving passengers travelling to Glastonbury Festival.

While more than half of the trains to Glastonbury were cancelled due to the strike action, many services are specially-run trains for the festival.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]