Thousands of train passengers in the north of England faced renewed disruption on Saturday because of the latest 24-hour strike by members of the RMT union.

The walkout by conductors working for Arriva Northern is part of a long-running dispute over pay.

Arriva warned that a settlement is unlikely until next year at the earliest.

The company has also claimed it would maintain 75% of its services during the walkout, by using buses and replacement staff.

We have named days of action now right through to January of next year

Bob Crowe - RMT

The RMT's general secretary, Bob Crowe, said the union's members were prepared for the "long haul".

The strikes began in January and Arriva has now warned passengers the dispute is unlikely to be settled until next February at the earliest, when its franchise comes to an end.

Arriva managing director Ray Price blames the RMT for the impasse.

He said: "We've negotiated with the union throughout, we've talked about cost of living, we've talked about productivity."

Mr Price said Arriva had increased its offer from 3% to 4%, but the RMT had refused to enter proper discussions.

Nine strikes

The union insists Arriva is to blame for the lack of progress.

It says the company has refused to talk and that it is bullying striking conductors, who total around 680 staff.

Nine strikes are scheduled to take place before the end of the year.

The RMT said Arriva's claims it was covering 75% of routes was "misinformation" as the company would claim a route was operating if just one train managed to get through.

The union's general secretary, Bob Crowe, told the BBC: "Our members have made it quite clear to us that they are prepared for the long haul.

"And we have named days of action now right through to January of next year."

'Negotiated settlement'

Mr Crowe said the striking rail workers did not take their action lightly.

"They didn't want to go on strike; they would rather have negotiated a settlement," he said.

"But now a strike has started they are not going to go back until it's finished and they are going to make sure they get an acceptable negotiated settlement."

The Strategic Rail Authority is currently deciding whether to renew Arriva's franchise to operate services.