Rail passengers are set for another day of travel chaos with plans to hold a strike on the Merseyrail network which runs the services from Chester and Ellesmere Port into Liverpool.
The Rail and Maritime Transport Workers union has announced it will hold the latest in a long run of strikes across the two key networks on Wednesday, November 8.
And the union told our sister paper, the Liverpool Echo , it will continue to strike ‘long into next year’ and won’t back down in an increasingly bitter row over the planned roll out of driver-only trains.
The next 24-hour walk-out will affect commuters making their way around the region on Merseyrail trains as well as anyone using Arriva Rail North services.
This latest action comes after this month’s two walk-outs, which were timed to coincide with the closure of Lime Street Station .
November’s strike is part of a wider co-ordinated effort from the RMT to protest the imposition of driver-controlled trains - which would remove many on-board guard roles - on different operators around the country.
Workers on Southern, South Western Railway and Greater Anglia will strike for 48 hours from November 8 - the same day of the 24-hour walk-out on Merseyrail and Arriva Rail North.
RMT regional organiser John Tilley said the strikes will continue until decisions over planned new trains are reversed.
He said: “This will continue until Merseyrail give a guarantee of a guard on every train. We will not accept guardless trains.
“It is time that the politicians got their heads out of the sand and reversed this calamitous decision. We will take strike action for as long as it takes – well into next year – we are not going away.”
Andy Heath, Merseyrail’s deputy managing director, said: “Just a few weeks after the last round of industrial action, the RMT has announced it will strike again, targeting commuters and leisure-travellers alike.
“We will do all we can to provide as comprehensive a service as possible, with timetable details published over the next few days. The union claims to be open to talks but failed to respond to our most recent offer of a meeting.”
