Planned Merseyrail strikes over guard row called off

Some of the strikes planned on Merseyrail in a dispute about guards on its new trains have been cancelled.

The first three in a series of six 24-hour walkouts due to have begun on Saturday have been suspended, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union said.

The union said it follows a "positive" meeting with metro mayor Steve Rotheram in which "fresh proposals" were made.

Merseyrail said it was "pleased" at the decision and a normal service will now run on 24 August and 3 and 5 September.

Mr Rotheram said he was "pleased that a potential way forward has been found".

"This is good news for passengers and underlines that significant progress is being made towards reaching a final resolution to this long-running dispute," he said.

The RMT union has said proposals for the roles of guards and drivers were "less safe".

The rail firm agreed "in principle" to a second staff member on its new trains in 2021.

Strike action still remains planned for:

On these dates there will be no trains running on the Kirkby and Hunts Cross lines and services will start and end at Hooton station on the Chester and Ellesmere Port lines.

Earlier, Merseyrail managing director Andy Heath said: "We have met the aspirations of the RMT and our customers, who were clear that they wanted a second person on all trains and we had two jointly established deals to guarantee that."

He apologised to affected customers.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said members felt "so strongly" that proposals for the new trains were "a less safe option" that they are prepared to go back to the picket lines.

Drivers agreed that the guard should be "responsible for the safe dispatch of the train as they are now," he added.

RMT members on South Western Railway will strike for four days from 30 August in the same dispute, causing disruption on busy commuter routes into London Waterloo.