Staff are picketing stations in Northern England

Thousands of rail passengers in Northern England are already experiencing travel chaos because of a 48-hour strike by guards at Arriva Trains Northern, which started on Thursday.

The RMT announced on Thursday that its members at Silverlink are being balloted over strike action after they rejected a pay offer by 66 to 55.

The union had recommended they accept the offer, worth 3.3% from last June, 3% from this June and a cut in the working week.

Staff on the DLR will also be balloted - this will be co-ordinated with a ballot of London Underground (LU) train drivers who are involved in a separate pay row.

Any industrial action will be launched against the two companies at the same time, potentially causing huge disruption in London.

'Realistic'

The RMT has rejected a 4% pay offer on behalf of its members at DLR who work as train "captains" on driverless trains.

It is arguing that the "captains" salaries of �22,300 are below the average in the capital and worse than LU staff.

The RMT's acting general secretary, Vernon Hince, said: "We are seeking a realistic increase in pay to bring Docklands rates to an acceptable level for working in London.

"They have fallen below comparable rates on LU and we are seeking to redress the disparity."

ScotRail employees are also pressing for parity with other, more highly paid drivers in other regions.

About one in ten services are operating on Arriva Trains Northern

Their campaign so far has involved an overtime ban and a refusal to work on rest days.

This has caused widespread disruption, which has on occasions forced ScotRail to introduce an emergency timetable.

Talks aimed at resolving the dispute have failed.

ScotRail train drivers, who are members of Alsef, will now vote on 24-hour stoppages as part of their pay dispute with the company.

ScotRail managing director Nick Brown said there was no money for Aslef's demands and urged drivers to ignore the call to strike.

Mr Brown said the company's offer of 8.2% was "not bad for driving trains around Scotland".

Alternative routes

Meanwhile rail services in northern England have been severely disrupted by the start of a two-day strike by train guards.

Most of Arriva Trains Northern's 1,600 services have been cancelled, forcing rail commuters to use bus and car to get to work.

It is the first of two 48-hour stoppages by members of the RMT union in a dispute over pay rises.

The union has announced a further 48-hour strike on 5 and 6 February.

The strike follows one on South West Trains (SWT) earlier this month, which severely affected services in much of the south-east and London.

They will hold another 48-hour strike on Monday and Tuesday next week.