A family-run coffee shop is fighting for survival after a commuter train station shut until the new year due to the rail strikes.

Morning Sunshine Coffee faces a £42,787 hit on trade after having to shutter down the independent business until January.  

Owner Ashley Davis said small businesses have become ‘collateral’ in the dispute involving the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), Network Rail and the operating companies.

He told Metro.co.uk that the business at Warwick Parkway has been given no rent relief by Chiltern Railways despite the station remaining closed on days when there is no strike action.  

The RMT is due to strike on eight days between Saturday and January 7, but stations north of Banbury will have no Chiltern services until January 9.

An overtime ban by the union between December 18 and January 2 is further impacting schedules and the rail companies’ operations.

In addition, train drivers’ union Aslef is due to strike on January 5.

Mr Davis warned that independent business owners have been left ‘helpless’ as they try to stay afloat with rising costs and no revenue.  

‘The industrial action has been devastating,’ he said.

‘We don’t use zero-hours contracts so we are currently paying 12 members of staff to sit at home or to go to our other coffee shop so they have something to do.

‘We were only given three days’ notice of the station closure by the network operators, who had known for two weeks that the RMT was going to strike on eight days.  

‘Chiltern then told us they were going to shut for a further 22 days beyond that, which was absolutely appalling.

‘We have not been given rent relief and it’s extremely unlikely we will do in the future. With the loss of earnings, we are looking at £42,787.50 across four weeks for the business. It’s an astounding amount for an independent business and it’s only because we are family-run by myself and my mother that we have managed to survive to this point.’ 

Chiltern has said that none of its services will run north of Banbury between December 15 and January 9. 

Six of its 36 stations will be without any services at all during the period.

They are Northolt Park, Sudbury Hill Harrow, Sudbury & Harrow Road, Monks Risborough, Little Kimble and South Ruislip.  

Warwick Parkway is not on the list, although signage at the station says it will be closed until the resumption date.   

Mr Davis opened another coffee shop in nearby Kenilworth four weeks ago, which is providing a lifeline as the three-year-old business is mothballed.  

‘Small businesses like ours have become collateral damage that no one has given any thought to,’ he said.

‘We’ve had to diversify to survive by opening up another business in Kenilworth so we can maintain staff and cash flow.

‘Rent, service charges and utility costs are still going out while our station cafe is shut so we have had to alter the entire business just to survive the strikes. We’ve been through the pandemic but this has been the most extreme thing we’ve faced so far.’

The director told Metro.co.uk he has spoken to other traders on the Chiltern line, which runs between London Marylebone and the West Midlands, who are in a similar position.  

‘We talk to businesses up and down the line who we know very well and the impact will be similar to ours if not greater,’ he said.

‘It seems like all the traders north of Banbury have been forgotten about, despite their loyalty in helping to build up the stations, and given very short notice of the closures.  

‘We found out on Sunday that there are replacement buses at Warwick Parkway but no one told us, and we could have been there serving.

‘Our jobs are on the line but neither Chiltern nor the Department for Transport seems to be supporting businesses like ours.

‘The unions are also part of the bickering and arguing while we wait to see if we will make it to the new year.’ 

The RMT wants pay rises to match the rising cost of living as well as settlements on job security and working conditions.

The union, which has 40,000 members, is in dispute with Network Rail and the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the Train Operating Companies.  

Railway workers are part of a wider backdrop of industrial unrest that includes the second day of nurses’ strikes today.

Mr Davis disclosed his own pay as he illustrated the fine margins that hang in the balance for businesses occupying units at train stations that are either closed or experiencing reduced footfall due to the disruption. 

He said: ‘The RMT has said that an average salary for a member is £33,000 while I and many other business owners pay less than the tax threshold with no dividends withdrawn, which is £11,800 a year for three years, all the way through Covid. We need some of the financial relief that already flows from the Department for Transport to the rail operators to be passed on to the tenants. We’ve been left helpless, yet the message seems to be, “have a nice Christmas and see you in the new year if you make it”.’ 

Chiltern Railways has told passengers to only travel ‘if absolutely essential’ through the period of industrial action.

A spokesperson has said: ‘We would like to sincerely apologise to our customers that our train service will be severely impacted throughout the four-week period of industrial action by the RMT union.’

Metro.co.uk has approached Chiltern for further comment.

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