New Year's Eve rail travel is set to be disrupted because of fresh strikes in long running disputes over the role of guards on trains and other issues.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union on South Western Railway (SWR) and CrossCountry will walk out for 24 hours on Sunday, causing delays and cancellations.

The union is planning more strikes in January against SWR, Southern, Merseyrail, Greater Anglia and Arriva Rail North in the bitter row over guards.

The CrossCountry dispute is over rosters and Sunday working.

The SWR strike will disrupt services to and from London Waterloo, the busiest railway station in the country.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "It's the continuing failure of the train companies and their political puppet masters in Government to make any attempt whatsoever to resolve the range of separate disputes over rail safety that has led us to call this further action on South Western railway and the responsibility for the disruption that will be caused lays fairly and squarely at their door.