“Our members have been warning for some time that these cuts would lead to exactly this kind of chaos.”
By the RMT
Rail union RMT has condemned Network Rail’s “Modernising Maintenance” programme after major disruption at Manchester Piccadilly forced the issuing of a “do not travel” instruction, leaving many passengers stranded.
The union says the ongoing chaos is the direct result of a staffing crisis driven by cuts to maintenance teams, with engineers warning that reduced fault response cover has left the network dangerously exposed.
RMT has been told that Network Rail is now unable to resource teams to safe and effective levels, meaning faults are not being dealt with in a timely manner, particularly in worst-case scenarios.
The union says the reduction in frontline maintenance staff and fault teams under the Modernising Maintenance programme has severely weakened the railway’s resilience, with predictable and foreseeable consequences impacting on rail workers and passengers.
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Passengers in Manchester are paying the price for reckless cuts to maintenance staffing.
“Network Rail’s so-called Modernising Maintenance programme has hollowed out fault response teams, leaving the railway unable to cope when things go wrong.
“Our members have been warning for some time that these cuts would lead to exactly this kind of chaos, with staff stretched too thin and unable to respond quickly to faults.
“Network Rail really needs to urgently reverse these damaging cuts, restore proper staffing levels and rebuild the maintenance capacity needed to keep the railway moving.”
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- This statement was originally posted by the RMT on 17 April 2026.
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