THE Rail, Maritime and Transport union will continue its planned strikes on the railways on Saturday, January 19 and Saturday, January 26, between 00.01 hours and 23.59 hours, with more strikes planned during February.

Commuters to and from Skipton are advised to check timetables before making their journey to see which journeys have been cancelled or delayed.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT continues to make every effort to get serious and meaningful talks going with Northern but the company is not interested and would prefer to call for an inquiry into the dispute to deflect attention from the impact of their behaviour on the travelling public.

“German-owned Northern Rail wants to run nearly half a million trains a year without a safety critical guard on board in a move that would wreck both safety and access ‎to services and they should listen to their front-line staff and pull back from that plan immediately.

“We thank the public for their support and understanding throughout this dispute over rail safety and access and the union remains ready for genuine and serious talks."

In response, David Brown, managing director at Northern, said: “There is no reason for RMT to continue this needless strike action. The Department for Transport and Transport for the North have guaranteed that all current conductors will continue to work in modernised on-board roles on all trains to provide customer service. This will include helping customers with accessibility, personal security, ticketing and information.

“Customer groups and business groups have supported Northern’s call for RMT to take part in an independent inquiry on Northern’s plans. This inquiry would be held by ACAS with an independent chair and independent panel and would give all parties the chance to have their say.”