RAIL users across the region are facing chaos tomorrow and Friday as a 48-hour strike is expected to knock hundreds of scheduled services off track.

Arriva Trains Northern (ATN) has announced that the strike will take most of its 1,600 daily services out of action, and only a handful of services are expected to survive the industrial action.

The company said it was still willing to negotiate to avoid the disruptions and officials of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said they were still keen to keep talking, if a "reasonable" offer was made.

But they described the latest proposals from Arriva as "ludicrous".

The union hopes to win pay parity for its conductors with train drivers.

Talks between the parties broke down at the end of last week, when the RMT said they were unhappy with the package they were being offered.

Arriva said its conductors earned on average about £20,000 a year, including commission and other additions, for an average 42-hour week.

However, Allen Heath, regional organiser for the RMT, last night claimed: "They earn considerably less than that."

He said the £16,763 basic pay being offered was counter-balanced by other stipulations which would take the average earnings to less than £18,000.

The deal that was offered was "self financing" and to Arriva's advantage, said Mr Heath.

"It is ludicrous," he said. "They have not had to put anything in."

The firm said it was always willing to return to talks, and Mr Heath said: "We are available. We want to talk, we need to talk to them.

"We don't want our members and the customers to lose money, we are reasonable people - just give us a reasonable offer."

A statement from Arriva claimed the offer was "very fair", and said: "It will be intolerable if Arriva's customers have to suffer from industrial action taken in pursuit of a totally unreasonable demand."

Despite the strike action, up to four services an hour will be run on selected peak-time services, while the hourly York to Manchester Piccadilly route will also run.

Buses put into action to replace trains as part of a temporary timetable launched in October will continue to run and normal services will be provided today and on Saturday.

Further details of the disruptions are available on ATN's customer service line, 0870 6023322