East Midlands Trains strike: Rail passengers facing disruption

The Stagecoach-owned firm is due to relinquish the East Midlands rail franchise in August

Rail passengers have been warned to expect disruption to services as senior conductors go on strike over a pay dispute.

Some members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) are unhappy with their current contracts with East Midlands Trains.

They have announced walk-outs on three consecutive Saturdays, starting today.

East Midlands Trains said it would still be able to run a "good service" during the action.

Union members voted for industrial action in protest at what they see as a lack of commitment by the firm towards addressing complaints about "wage discrimination and Sunday working".

General secretary Mick Cash said the strikes would begin "in order to force the company to take the issues seriously and start acting responsibly".

Rail bosses said services between London and the East Midlands would not be affected

The Stagecoach-owned firm - which is due to hand over the East Midlands rail franchise to Abellio next month - said trains between London and the region would run as normal during the strikes but there would be disruption on other routes.

This includes a revised timetable between Derby and Matlock, Liverpool and Nottingham, and replacement coaches between Newark and Lincoln, Doncaster and Peterborough, and Lincoln and Grimsby.

East Midlands Trains customer experience director Adam Piddington said: "We remain disappointed that despite a meeting being planned, the RMT are unwilling to call off their action which unfortunately means inconvenience for our customers.

"We are open for any meetings with the RMT but now we have to put our full focus on making sure we can run the best service possible for our customers during the three days of union action."