ANGRY rail workers are planning to welcome Chris Grayling to Manchester with a protest over the “total chaos” the Transport Secretary has wrought on Britain’s railways.

Members of the RMT union will demonstrate outside the Regional Transport Summit on June 25, hoping for a meeting to bring up their concerns with Mr Grayling directly.

The front-line workers will demand an end to the “fiasco” triggered by new timetables last month that have resulted in massive delays and cancellations, as well as calling for safety-critical guards to be kept on trains.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham branded Northern Rail “appalling,” calling for parent company Arriva to be stripped of the franchise if the situation does not improve.

Drivers’ union Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan accused “failing Grayling” of “badly letting down” passengers in northern England.

He said: “The fault lies with Mr Grayling, the Department for Transport, Network Rail and Northern Rail, which does not employ enough drivers to deliver the service it promised in its franchise application.

“It started training drivers — giving drivers the route knowledge they need — far too late. It makes a mockery of the idea of a Northern Powerhouse. The lack of investment in rail in the north is an utter disgrace.”

RMT announced more strikes on Northern and South Western Rail this month in its long-running campaign to keep guards on the trains.

Three 24-hour strikes are planned on Northern on Tuesday June 19, Thursday 21 and Saturday 23. A three-day strike is planned for South Western Rail from June 21 to 23.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “We have seen over the past three weeks that Northern is a company which has declared war on its passengers and staff alike.

“RMT will not stand aside while the threat to axe safety critical guards from Northern services remains central to the company plans.

“This company has reduced the timetable to total chaos and the union will not allow them to slash the safety culture to ribbons in the same fashion.”

Mr Cash said that RMT made every effort in talks with South Western over the axing of guards but “there has been a total lack of goodwill from the company.”