THE bitter dispute over the role of guards on trains is set to spread to South Western Railway (SWR).

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) on the new operator – which took over the old South West Trains franchise in August – plus Southern and Greater Anglia will walk out for 48 hours from November 8.

The union has been embroiled in a dispute with Southern for over 18 months, taking more than 30 days of strike action.

The dispute has sisnce spread to Merseyrail, Arriva Rail North and Greater Anglia.

SWR will be targeted for a strike for the first time after being accused by the union of refusing to give a “cast iron guarantee” that a second, safety-critical member of staff, will be retained on trains.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Every single effort that RMT has made to reach negotiated settlements in these separate disputes with the different train operating companies over safe operation and safe staffing has been kicked back in our faces and we are left with no option but to confirm a further phase of industrial action in early November.

“It is frankly ludicrous that we have been able to negotiate long-term arrangements in Scotland and Wales that protect the guards and passenger safety but we are being denied the same opportunities with rail companies in England.

“It is outrageous that Prime Minister Theresa May and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling are happy to stand aside and cheer on overseas rail companies that rip-off the British passenger to subsidise their domestic transport operations while throwing the guards off our trains.”

An SWR spokesman said: “We would like to assure our customers that should this strike go ahead, we have contingency plans in place and we will do everything we can to minimise disruption to their journeys.

“We have not yet made a decision on how best to operate our new fleet of trains, trains that are not due to be in service for two years, and the way forward is to discuss how we operate them for the benefit of our passengers with our employees, and the union.”

The November 8 strikes coincide with a ballot result by the drivers’ union Aslef over a proposed deal to end its dispute with Southern.