There are hopes that frustrating rail strikes on Northern services could be over as the Government has committed to a second person being retained on board trains.

The Department for Transport and Transport for the North jointly manage the Northern franchise through Rail North Partnership.

Northern and rail union the RMT have been embroiled in a bitter dispute for months over the role of guards on trains with weekly Saturday strikes currently in process.

David Brown, managing director at Northern, said: “It’s welcome news that the Government has confirmed that a second person will be retained on board our trains.

“There is no reason for the RMT to continue its disruptive and economically damaging strikes in the build up to Christmas.

“We invited RMT to ACAS talks in the summer and were willing to discuss the options that they themselves put forward, including those RMT had agreed with other train operators.

“Despite those talks breaking down, we have remained open to further discussions, but all attempts have been rejected by RMT.

“I look forward to RMT suspending their December strikes, and accepting my long-standing invitation to get back round the table at ACAS to resolve their dispute.”