ARRIVA Trains passengers were last night afforded some much-needed respite ahead of the next round of strike action.

The company yesterday restored the bulk of its services with trains finally replacing buses on a number of routes.

Arriva had set itself a target of restoring 97 per cent of its timetable by the end of the month.

A stripped-down winter timetable had been in place since last October to cope with a temporary driver shortage problem.

The restoration of most services was welcomed by passenger groups.

However the back-to-normal situation is only expected to last a few days.

Members of the RMT union plan a third 48-hour stoppage on Friday and Saturday in a dispute over pay.

The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, which represents about 170 Arriva station and office staff, is expected to join the walkout.

All sides in the dispute, sparked by a wage increase for Arriva drivers, appear to have reached a stand-off.

Ian Walker, of the North-East branch of passenger campaign group Rail Future, said: "We are happy that Arriva is finally getting back to normal.

"But at the same time we are disappointed that a further stoppage hitting services is likely to occur.

"The only way round this must be for more negotiations to take place."