VERY limited Virgin Cross Country rail services were expected to serve York today, despite strike action by guards across the UK.

The fresh travel chaos has been brought about by another 24-hour strike by Rail Maritime and Transport Union members.

Up to 3,000 guards are staging the second of three one-day walkouts in a long-running dispute over their safety role. Virgin spokesman Jim Rowe said no trains had been listed to serve York today on the route between Birmingham and Newcastle.

But he said a "sporadic" service would be in place connecting the cities at irregular times throughout the day.

Managers and supervisors are expected to stand in for striking guards, as they did during the first stoppage on Friday.

GNER and Arriva Trains Northern were not involved in today's strike and their services are running as normal.

RMT leaders have protested that the guard's role is being reduced, with responsibilities reduced and jobs threatened.

This has been strongly denied by the Association of Train Operating Companies, which has described the industrial action as unjustified. A further 24-hour walkout is planned for April 17 and the union could set new dates for action.

Spending on the UK rail network will double over the next three years, according to bosses at Network Rail, the company that replaced Railtrack. In a business plan published today, bosses said spending on the railways would be more than £6 billion a year, compared with the £3 billion originally expected.

Updated: 12:06 Monday, March 31, 2003