Merseyrail have set a midnight deadline for a strike on Grand National Day to be called off.
RMT union members have agreed to stage a walk-out on Saturday against the company’s decision to implement driver-only operated trains (DOO) from 2020.
Up to 220 rail guards are set to be affected by the plans and will begin a 24-hour strike on April 8, the day that race goers head to the finale of this year’s Aintree festival.
Talks between the RMT and Merseyrail broke off without agreement, prompting the industrial action, threatening to cause disruption across the local network.
Last month’s previous strike saw rail services on Merseyside widely affected and even halted for a three-hour period due to drivers refusing to cross picket lines.
But Jan Chaudhry-van de Velde, Merseyrail managing director, has urged union bosses to halt the strike and reopen discussions to find a solution for its members.
He said: “We have plenty of time – three years until the trains are introduced in 2020 – to discuss and agree this with the unions.
“That is why there is no need to go ahead with the damaging Grand National strike, which will only bring misery to local people and hurt the reputation of our city region on its biggest day of the year.
“I’m calling on the RMT to suspend this strike action today and sit down with us in meaningful talks.”
But RMT general secretary Mick Cash has hit back at Merseyrail’s claims that the dispute centres on the safety-critical role of train guards.
He said: “This dispute is not and never has been about who opens and closes the doors.
“The dispute is about whether we have a second safety trained person on ALL of Merseyrail’s fleet or if we operate the new trains with just a driver locked up front in their cab.
“Merseyrail admitted at the face to face talks held with RMT on the 20th March, that their proposed method of operation had not been validated, and was not in use anywhere on the UK rail network.
“Indeed it is precisely because of recommendation number one of the RAIB report into the fatal accident at James Street that RMT are questioning the safety of the proposed operation, and are putting forward a sensible alternative.”