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There WILL be a second member of staff on board every Merseyrail train after the RMT union and transport officials agreed a deal to end the bitter dispute over the future of guards on trains.

The union has hailed it as "an important and‎ significant development".

But there has also been a warning that fares could rise to pay the costs of solving the dispute .

The new fleet of Merseyrail trains set to come onto the network from 2021 were designed to be operated by the drivers alone without guards.

But that sparked a furious reaction from the RMT and a campaign to ensure that a second safety-critical member of staff remained on every train.

The RMT union held a series of strikes as its campaign to keep guards won wide public support. But the strikes were suspended while all sides went to conciliation service ACAS.

Now the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Merseyrail and the RMT Union have today agreed in principle that the new fleet of Merseyrail trains "will have a second member of staff on board the train".

But the authority and Merseyrail have warned they will now have to find ways to fund the staff on the trains.

They say that "productivity proposals" have come out of the ACAS talks to cover some of the costs. But in a joint statement today the authority, union and rail firm said that could include "an enhanced crackdown on fare evasion and increased fares".

And it is also currently being proposed that the drivers of the new trains will control the doors and the dispatch of the trains.

No-one currently employed as a guard will lose their jobs.

It's expected it will take several months for a final agreement to be reached. That will include agreeing the role and safety responsibilities of the second member of staff on board the trains.

But there will be no further industrial action while talks continue.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “I am pleased that we are agreeing in principle that there will be a second member of staff on board the train when the new, state-of-the-art Merseyrail fleet is fully in place in 2021.

“I have always believed that the only way this dispute would be resolved was by all sides sitting down and talking. That’s why I pushed for Merseyrail and the RMT to enter ACAS talks last year and I’m pleased that this approach has got us to where we are today.

(Image: Liverpool ECHO)

“Today’s announcement is huge progress but I also want to be clear that it requires a significant financial commitment and hard choices on all sides. This has to be kept in mind alongside the reality of the substantial reductions in funding that Merseytravel will receive from government over the next ten years.

“I believe this agreement gives us the best chance to successfully deliver and operate the new fleet of trains and therefore is in the best interests of the people of the Liverpool City Region. We will now complete the detailed work to explore and hopefully identify the affordable funding package needed to gain a final agreement”

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Today's agreement in principle is an important and‎ significant development in respect of RMT's long running campaign to retain a guaranteed second, safety-critical member of staff on Merseyrail trains.

(Image: Liverpool ECHO)

"I want to pay tribute to RMT members for their resilience and‎ solidarity throughout this campaign.

"We now await a fully-formed and detailed set of proposals that the we can take back to our Executive and our members."

Andy Heath, Merseyrail managing director, said: “Merseyrail and its shareholders have given our support to this agreement as we have always been clear that any dispute between us and the RMT will only be resolved through talks.

“Today’s announcement is an acknowledgement of that fact.

“The commitment from the RMT to continue the suspension of industrial action during this review period will undoubtedly help maintain the continuity of the current phase of ACAS conciliation which will allow us to plan our operational delivery around the major programme of Merseyrail platform modifications and the major events between now and the end of the year.

"During this phase of conciliation we will continue our engagement with both the Combined Authority and the RMT as we explore the feasibility and affordability of a solution to keeping a second person on the new trains.”