RAIL union RMT has announced a fresh bout of strike action on South Western Railway later this month in an ongoing dispute over the threat to guards and the safety of the travelling public.

South Western Railway members are set to walk out for 24 hours, from 00.01 hours to 23.59, on New Year’s Eve (Sunday, December 31), while members of the RMT union employed by Greater Anglia will do the same on Wednesday, December 27.

The union also revealed that yesterday it had met the Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling and the rail minister Paul Maynard to try and resolve all of the current rail safety disputes - but as a result of the meeting there seemed to be “contradictory messages, confusion and lack of clarity”.

On the one hand the union said it was told that the Government "is not opposed to a second person on the train".

“But then," said RMT General Secretary Mick Cash, "within an hour of that meeting I received letter from Chris Grayling asking the union to accept the principle of Driver Only Operation which as everyone knows reduces accessibility because there is no longer guard to assist older and disabled passengers who need assistance."

He continued: "There is chaos and confusion in the rail industry surrounding the Government’s positon which makes it almost impossible to negotiate.

“It really should be straight forward - the Scottish and Welsh Governments have agreed to keep the guards on our trains so there is no reason why the UK government cannot as well.”

The Department for Transport and South Western Railway are yet to comment on the announcement.