West Sussex railway station café owner issues plea amid strikes - 'I no longer have savings to fall back on'

Carol Ritchie has owned Ritchie’s Buffet in Angmering railway station since 2006 – serving snacks and hot and cold drinks.

But due to the ongoing industrial action, the 63-year-old has had no customers, meaning no income during a cost of living crisis.

“I’m running a small business that I’m struggling to keep going,” Carol said. “Everything has gone up but I can’t take any wages.

“The union’s argument is about wanting to protect jobs and for equal pay to suit inflation but what about people like me?

"I’m going to have to sell my house and I don’t want to. I’ve been in it 36 years. I’ve worked hard and paid my tax accordingly.”

A rail strike by 40,000 RMT union members has been taking place every day since Tuesday (January 3) and will continue over the weekend. It followed another prolonged period of industrial action over the Christmas period.

Carol said she met people ‘distraught’ about being unable to see loved ones at Christmas, with some missing flights after being unable to get to the airport, whilst others ‘missed hospital appointments’.

“I could have made a good killing, money-wise, in December,” she said. “It's appalling behaviour. Then they have the nerve to raise fares.

"People don’t understand what’s it like to be me in this situation. They suggest doing delivery but you need a special insurance and means I could be standing there all day and no phone rings. The railway would charge you if you’re open.”

In response, Southern Rail said it ‘deeply appreciates’ the ‘difficult circumstances’ being experienced by some of its tenants.

A spokesperson added: “Strikes are terrible for everyone and we look forward to a resolution as soon as possible.”

Lightning strikes twice

This is not the first time Carol has been impacted by train strikes. In 2017, the Rustington grandmother lost so many customers that she had to cut staff hours and feared she would lose her home.

She said: “I was down to £1.49 in all my accounts in that time. I had to use my retirement savings. I lost all my savings and had to sell my motorbike and my car to survive.

"The railway said it was not their fault and I still had to pay full rent. This time, I’m going with a different approach. I’m withholding the rent whether they like it or not. I’ve got a total of £4,000 left to my name.”

Carol said she is ‘not picking’ on station staff and said she did have sympathy with striking workers ‘whose jobs are on the line’. She called on station staff to be ‘protected’ as ‘they are needed just as much as I am’.

But she said the ‘alarm bells’ are ringing for her, personally, with ‘no savings to fall back on’ – impacted also by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I’ve only for my cheap second hand car which I need,” she said. “I have to do something and swallow my pride. I’m not after charity, or begging people to help me. I’m begging the union to please think and stop.

"I don’t see that I should pay for my full rent. It is down to the government. I care about my customers and don’t want to put my prices up. I’ve been there 16-and-a-half-years and I want to make it to 20.

"I’m looking for support or leniency from the railway. I was due to retire in a few years but I can’t afford to now. With recession, everything is going up but I haven’t got the income to cover everything.

“People are out of pocket and there’s a snowball effect. I’m a tough cookie but I will get desperate. I’ve got to do my mortgage. I’ve got keep my head above water.”

The business owner also raised concerns that the week-long train strikes will have forced a large number of extra vehicles onto local roads.

She added: “They used to have adverts on TV saying let the trains take the strain. Now it’s the roads taking the strain and it’s causing more accidents and more deaths.

"People have got to get to work. Not everyone can work from home. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon with the strikes.”

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