A series of weekend strikes which had been called by ASLEF on LNER has been suspended, after a resolution was reported by the union.

Drivers belonging to ASLEF had been set to walk out every weekend between now and mid-November, in a dispute about agreements which the union said had been broken.

The dispute is not connected with the national pay dispute on which drivers are currently being balloted, with a recommendation to accept.

LNER had already published a reduced timetable for this weekend but said it would now see how it could strengthen its service.

The operator said the latest talks with ASLEF had been ‘constructive’ and that it was pleased the strikes had been suspended.

ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said: ‘Once again we have demonstrated that by sitting round the table and negotiating, issues on the railway can be resolved in a way that means better workplace practices for rail workers and a better service for the travelling public. ASLEF will continue to campaign for a fully-staffed railway that doesn’t rely on excessive use of driver overtime.

‘We continue to operate in good faith and we are pleased to have finally resolved this long-standing issue with LNER of abuse of our agreements. We look forward to normal working resuming.’