NORTHERN Rail will run no Saturday services between Warrington and Manchester for the rest of the year.

All the operator’s trains between Warrington Central and Manchester on Saturdays in December are cancelled, beginning this weekend.

Services have been affected every weekend since the end of August due to strike action by the RMT union, with members and Northern Rail embroiled in a long-running dispute over train guards.

However hopes are high that there could be an end to the dispute and Northern Rail has called for the RMT to end its action.

The government now says two members of staff will be allowed to work on trains in the future and called for the strikes to be ended.

And the RMT says it is open to suspending this weekend's strike action if the company 'meets key guarantees' on the issue.

David Brown, managing director at Northern, said: “It’s welcome news that the Government has confirmed that a second person will be retained on board our trains.

“There is no reason for the RMT to continue its disruptive and economically damaging strikes in the build up to Christmas.

“We invited RMT to ACAS talks in the summer and were willing to discuss the options that they themselves put forward, including those RMT had agreed with other train operators.

“Despite those talks breaking down, we have remained open to further discussions, but all attempts have been rejected by RMT.

“I look forward to RMT suspending their December strikes, and accepting my long-standing invitation to get back round the table at ACAS to resolve their dispute.”

The RMT said it needed clarification on the matter 'no later than 12pm on Friday, November 30' in order to call off this weekend's strikes.

This includes a guarantee that no trains will run without a second member of staff on board, that this employee is 'clearly designanted as safety critical' to servics and that they will 'retain the full suite of safety and operational competencies of the guard' - including a direct role on the platform.

General secretary Mick Cash said: "Firstly, I want to pay tribute to the RMT members and our supporters from the travelling public whose solidarity and determination have been instrumental in getting the focus of the dispute back on to the guarantee of a second person on the train.

"It is now imperative that the company clarify the role and safety critical status of that second person, as set out by our executive to allow for a suspension of this weekend's action and for talks to take place."

As it stands though, the strikes will go ahead.

This weekend, passengers are instead advised to use services by East Midlands Trains and Arriva North Wales.

Across the region, Northern Rail will run less than 30 per cent of its usual weekend trains.

Mr Brown has earlier said: "By the end of December, we will have had 19 consecutive Saturdays of RMT strike action.

"This targeted action disrupts our customers’ lives, but as we enter a vital period for businesses it also damages the economic wellbeing of the north of England.

"This Saturday, we are introducing a new timetable for RMT strike days that will deliver stable and consistent train services for our customers on each strike Saturday in December.

"We have fantastic colleagues who have supported customers by keeping our trains running on each of the RMT strike days.

"We are aiming to keep as many people moving as possible and ensuring customers can still travel into the biggest towns and cities for the big seasonal events, including Christmas markets – but with very few services running after 5pm.

“We expect all of our services and those of other operators to be extremely busy, and are calling on our customers to plan their travel carefully for the coming weekend.

"Check the new timetables well in advance, and make sure they do not rely on the last trains home."