The first of two days of strikes by Unite members will disrupt services on East Midlands Railway today.

EMR, which is owned by Abellio, has warned that it will be providing ‘a significantly reduced level of service’ today and tomorrow as a result of the walkouts.

No EMR trains will run east of Nottingham, affecting services to east Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. All other trains will run no later than 18.30, while only one train an hour will run on the Midland Main Line to London from Nottingham and Sheffield, although daytime services between Corby and London will run normally.

EMR managing director Will Rogers said the strikes will affect the company’s depots, which ‘reduces our ability to run our normal timetable’.

The walkouts will involve more than 140  cleaners, technicians, shunters, engineers, inspectors, lathe operators, team leaders and supervisors.

The union says a pay offer of four per cent is not acceptable. it had already staged one 48-hour strike on 6 and 7 October.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘Abellio is an extremely wealthy company making millions in profit. Clearly, it can easily afford to make our members a fair pay offer and it should do so without delay. It should not be passing the buck on its duty to pay our members properly.’

There is more trouble to come at EMR’s Etches Park depot in Derby, where 70 staff employed by Alstom will strike over pay on 27 and 29 October. They will start a work to rule and overtime ban on 19 October, again over a four per cent pay offer.

Unite warned that unless the dispute is resolved more strikes will follow.