Passengers using rail services in the north of England are facing more disruption on Christmaas Eve during the second day of a 48-hour strike by conductors.

Hundreds of conductors at Arriva Trains Northern walked out at 0001 GMT on Monday, causing disruption to services.

The conductors are members of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, which has called on Arriva to seek an end to the dispute.

The train company has said more conductors are working than when the dispute, over pay, started almost a year ago.

'More conductors'

A further 24-hour stoppage will be held on New Year's Eve.

The rail company claims a quarter of its conductors are working, and it will be able to cover 80% of the network.

The managing director of Arriva, Euan Cameron, said support for the strike action was crumbling.

He said: "As more and more conductors have come back to work we have been able to run more and more services."

Basic pay

But RMT regional organiser Stan Herschel said: "Sadly the public has been dragged into this dispute, but Arriva has had 12 months to sort this out."

The union has been campaigning to increase the pay of a conductor from a basic �15,500, to more than �17,000.

Arriva said its conductors earned an average of �20,000-a-year for a 42-hour week.