Shropshire feels the squeeze as shoppers and staff can't reach county towns by rail
Staff unable to get to work, meetings cancelled and goods unable to move in or out.
The unseen affects of the rail strikes across the county are beginning to bite, affecting small businesses already struggling to bounce back from the pandemic and cope with rising costs.
Train services ground to a halt yet again this week with rail lines closed on Tuesday and Wednesday and another 48 hour strike set to begin on Friday.
Michael Goodall, Shropshire development manager for the Federation of Small Businesses said members wanted a speedy resolution to minimise disruption.
"The strikes are a really big issue for small businesses.
"They are affecting everybody yet our small businesses are continuing to soldier on.
"For many of our small businesses they are fighting to survive. They have battled Covid and now they are battling spiralling energy costs and the strikes."
Mr Goodall said problems included getting staff reliant on trains to commute, back and too to work.
"For those in the accommodation and retail sectors there is also the major impact of getting customers to their businesses," he said.
"People who would normally use the trains to get into towns to do their Christmas shopping are being affected."
Mark Davies runs Darwin's Townhouse boutique bed and breakfast in Shrewsbury.
He said the rail strikes hit the business when they first began.
"We had a lot of cancellations at first, as people realised they could not get to Shrewsbury because of the strikes," he said.
"However now we have found that bookings have returned but there are many many more last minute bookings."
He said visitors wanted to come to Shrewsbury and enjoy a short break in the town.
"What has changed is that they are not booking until the last minute."
Mr Davies said the strikes were also affecting deliveries.
"We have a programme of building improvement works that we have embarked upon. Getting the materials for that work is taking much longer than it normally would."
A call for the parties in the disputes to get around the table for talks has been echoed by Shropshire Chamber of Commerce.
"It is a challenging time for members of the chamber," chief executive, Richard Sheehan said.
"The delivery of raw materials is affected and movement of staff is a serious issue.
"Staff can not get into work and face-to-face meetings are being cancelled because rail travel is not available.
"Businesses are having to adapt, again, to virtual meetings but they are not the same as meetings in person."
