From Iain Coucher, Chief Executive:

has been advised by the that it will be calling its members out on strike between Tuesday 6 and 9 April.

I am very aware of the effect that this will have on you, and I am doing all I can to negotiate an end to the disputes to avoid a strike.

If there is a strike, some trains will run: many of our people will want to work as normal. The way in which this strike has been called – targeting morning and evening services – is designed to maximise the impact on passengers, and so I regret that on many lines, there will be considerable disruption to your journey. I apologise for that.

I want to explain the two entirely separate disputes which the RMT has coordinated to cause you the most difficulty on your daily journeys.

The RMT claims that this is about the safety of passengers and rail workers. It is not. We do not negotiate on safety – it is at the heart of everything we do, and we will accept no compromises. The of Rail Regulation has now confirmed that it is satisfied with the proposed changes.

Our signallers are seeking reassurance that in the of future changes to how we work, they will be treated fairly. We have told them we do not plan to change any of the long-standing agreements which provide exactly that protection.

In addition, we have presented plans to modernise our maintenance work. They have been rejected by the unions – so we want to work with them to find a compromise.

For both disputes, Network Rail has worked very hard indeed to make reasonable and worthwhile offers to the unions so we can negotiate an end to their disputes.

I don't believe any of those offers have been considered seriously by the unions' leaders during our many discussions, which also involved for two days last week… or they wouldn't have called a strike.

We will keep trying to help the unions and their members understand our offers to avoid strikes: but they must want to negotiate, and not just make empty gestures about talking.

Iain Coucher