Date named for rail strike

RAIL union the RMT has revealed plans to stage a further 24-hour strike which will hit rail users in the North East.

The industrial action is part of the long-running dispute between the union and Arriva Rail North over driver-only operated (DOO) trains.

It is set to go ahead on Tuesday, May 30, after the union said it was “angry and frustrated” amid claims the company had rejected point blank every attempt to try to broker a settlement to end the long-running dispute.

The RMT also claimed Arriva Rail North was going ahead with plans to introduce a minimum of 50% driver-controlled operation across the franchise upon the introduction of the new rolling stock without agreement and in the teeth of opposition from the public, politicians and its own staff. RMT General Secretary Mick Cash

said: “The sheer intransigence of Arriva Rail North means that we have no option but to confirm a further 24 hours of strike action.

“The responsibility for the inevitable disruption lies wholly with the company. Reporter We are angry and frustrated that Arriva continues to face up to the facts and also continues to ignore a perfectly reasonable union proposal to invite the Department for Transport to join us in three-way talks. “The public, who support the RMT’s campaign for a guarantee of a guard on their trains, will be appalled that Arriva Rail North has failed yet again to offer any kind of progress whatsoever in the talks and instead opted to try to bulldoze through its plans regardless. “It is that flagrant disregard for the safety issues at the heart of the dispute which leaves us with no option but to press on with the campaign of strike action.” Deputy managing director Richard Allan of Northern (Arriva Rail North) said: “We urge RMT to get back round the table for open-minded, meaningful talks on the role they can play in delivering the modern railway that people of the North want and deserve.”