Metro driver strike sees train company put on extra carriages to cope with demand from passengers

A strike by Metro drivers who are members of the RMT union will lead to a total shutdown of the service over a two-day period.

RMT members who work as drivers on the Tyne and Wear Metro will take industrial action tomorrow, Friday, December 20, and Saturday, December 21, as part of an ongoing dispute with system operator Nexus over their pay deal.

Nexus has also called on the union to look again at the pay rise and improved rostering arrangements on offer to them.

Chris Carson, Metro Services Director, has hit out at the union – and said it has demonstrated “a callous disregard” for customers affected by the strike action.

The staff say the salaries for similar roles are paid more at rival companies and have rejected an offer which would see their pay rise to £46,000.

RMT officials say they have not taken the decision to strike during two of the busiest days of the year lightly, but feel they have no other option.

A list of questions and answers have been answered by the operator and can be found by clicking here.

While no replacement bus service will be offered by Nexus, other companies are putting on additional services to help people get around.

This includes Stagecoach, which will ensure more X24 and X34 vehicles are on the road.

While Nexus has said Northern Rail has asked it to discourage people from catching its trains, bosses at the firm have said they will do all they can to help people complete their journeys.

A spokesperson for Northern said: “We absolutely recognise how important travel is this weekend – the weekend before Christmas – and will do everything possible to help people in the North East get where they need to be.

“Across the region, where possible, we will add extra carriages to our trains and are working with local bus companies to provide additional road transport from Newcastle, Seaham, and Sunderland on Friday and Hartlepool, Heworth, Newcastle, Seaham, and Sunderland on Saturday.

“We expect all our services to be extremely busy – even with the additional capacity – and so are advising all customers to allow extra time for any travel.”