DISRUPTION on key rail services from London to south-west England, south Wales and the Thames Valley is set to come to an end tonight, as union reps call on bosses to quit evading questions over new trains and staffing.

Rail union RMT said the bank holiday walk-out had been “rock solid in all areas.”

The union is locked in a bitter dispute with privateer rail operator First Great Western over the introduction of the new Intercity Express Programme trains, which are set to replace the British Rail flagship HSTs on the route.

Fellow IEP operator Virgin Trains East Coast has given assurances to staff that guards’ jobs will be secure in spite of the trains being built with the potential for driver-only operation.

The Virgin units will also be built with buffet cars — whereas the First Great Western variant are set to force standard class passengers to be served from a basic tea trolley.

First Group has already pushed travelling chefs off its trains in preparation for the new units.

A spokesman for FGW claimed the rail company was running 70 per cent of services as normal, and hoped to keep services running at the same level for the rest of the weekend.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said the union had been forced to take action as reps had “not been able to secure the kind of progress we hoped for in the key areas of jobs, services and safety.”