Train firm's strike-busting promise

South West Trains announced yesterday it intends to increase the number of services on strike days in response to extended industrial action.

The company said it planned to run almost 1,000 services next week when members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union stage their latest walkout over pay and disciplinary procedures. During last week's strikes, the company ran 600 services.

The union has strengthened action by calling two 24-hour stoppages from noon on Monday and again from Wednesday but the company has trained managers to stand in for guards, enabling it to run more trains.

The company, which usually operates 1,700 trains a day across southern England and to and from Waterloo station in London, is also laying on 650 buses. About three-quarters of stations would either have a train or bus service, the company pledged. Routes that were paralysed by previous strikes, including services from Kingston, Chessington South and Hampton Court to London, would have trains next week, .

The company has also written to the RMT proposing a "clear way forward" to end the long-running dispute.

In a letter to Vernon Hince, the union's acting general secretary, Andrew Haines, SWT managing director, said the 2001 pay negotiations were now concluded and further strikes would "not achieve anything".

Mr Haines suggested opening fresh negotiations for this year's pay round, offering talks on reducing the working week and taking a "far-sighted view" on family-friendly policies.

Talks could also restart on station staff restructuring in a "positive package" for workers, Mr Haines suggested.

But he attacked the RMT for having "no real intention" of resolving the dispute. He wrote: "The way in which you are manipulating strike dates and times demonstrates a blatant disregard of the damage your strikes are causing this company, its customers and employees."

Meanwhile, rail users across northern England suffered a second day of travel misery yesterday because of a continuing strike by the RMT in a separate dispute.