CHESTER and Ellesmere Port commuters will face disruption over the coming weeks after union bosses announced fresh strike action on Merseyrail.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) confirmed on Friday, October 11 that staff from Merseyrail will walk out on every Saturday from November 2 to December 28.

The row between RMT and Merseyrail relates to a new fleet of driver-only trains that will replace the current 40-year-old rolling stock in 2020 which the RMT say will threaten the security of guards jobs on trains.

Merseyrail and RMT had being undergoing negotiations with ACAS in which the rail operator believed that they had reached an agreement with RMT but it was rejected by the London-based national executive committee.

Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, informed members in a statement available on the RMT website and said talks would be ongoing with Merseyrail.

The strike dates are as follows:

  • November 2
  • November 9
  • November 16
  • November 23
  • November 30
  • December 7
  • December 14
  • December 21
  • December 28

A statement on the Merseyrail website reads: "We are extremely disappointed that the recent exploratory technical workshops between the RMT, ourselves and Merseytravel have resulted in the announcement of further strike action.

"It is especially disappointing given that there is now a guarantee of a guard on every new train with a safety critical role and that we were so close to an agreement to end this dispute.

"Our priority now is to run the best possible service on the upcoming strike days and communicate the arrangements with our passengers as soon as possible."