Thousands to face misery in rail strikes

THOUSANDS of rail passengers will be hit by strikes as the row over driver-only trains spreads.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at Arriva Rail North will stage a three-day walkout from today.

The union’s Merseyrail members will go on strike today and Monday, while Southern will be hit by an RMT walkout on Monday.

Arriva predicts 40% of services will run at revised times during the dispute.

Merseyrail trains are planned to run every 30 minutes with fewer stops.

And Southern will run an amended timetable currently in place during an overtime ban by Aslef.