PASSENGERS on the Tyne Valley line can expect further disruption this weekend as strike action on the railway continues. 

Just 30 per cent of Northern's rail services are set to run as the RMT prepares to strike for the sixth Saturday in a row.
The Tyne Valley line is expected to be affected with a significantly reduced number of services running this weekend.
Full details of the amended timetables can be found at www.northernrailway.co.uk/strike.

The strike is part of a long running dispute over the role of guards on trains, with Northern planning to operate driver only trains in the future, which the union say will put passengers at risk.

In advance of the strike, the the RMT say that statistics released by the British Transport Police (BTP) show the need for guards.

The BTP figures figures show that crime in the area served by Northern rose by 4.09 per cent, with violence increasing by almost 20 per cent.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: "The rising crime on Northern revealed in the new statistics from the British Transport Police exposes the madness of removing the guard from the train. 

"At the same time our isolated drivers will be on their own, exposed to anti-social and violent behaviour.

"As well as these dangers there will be also be disadvantages for disabled and older passengers who require assistance because there will be no one there to help them on and off the train or provide assistance during their journey. 

"No guard on the trains, combined with the destaffing of stations, is a toxic cocktail that gives the criminals a free hand on Britain’s violent railways."

Further strikes are planned for the next three Saturdays.

In a statement, Northern said they were getting on with the job of modernising the railways, and that they remained willing to involve the RMT in the future.