RAIL passengers suffered double disruption over the weekend as a strike and a fire brought trains to a standstill.

A 24-hour strike by conductors, which began at midnight on Friday, forced Arriva Trains Northern to cancel almost half its services during the period.

But before the action could begin, it had to abandon all services between Newcastle and Sunderland, from 9pm on Friday, when a fire caused Railtrack to close the line.

The blaze started among pallets at a storage yard in Hawks Road, Gateshead, and spread to a compound where propane and acetylene cylinders were stored.

Smoke engulfed the Baltic Arts Centre and the railway line, causing Railtrack to close it for several hours. A 30-year-old man was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

The strike was the 12th day of action over pay this year by Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members.

Unless an agreement is reached beforehand, a further 24-hour strike will take place this Friday.

Arriva, said it had to cancel 45 per cent of its services during the latest action, and was disappointed the dispute was dragging on after the RMT rejected its four per cent wage increase offer.

Managing director Ray Price said: "We are very disappointed the RMT continues to reject our significantly increased offer and instructed its members to strike on the first day of the Golden Jubilee weekend, one of the most important bank holidays the UK has seen for many years."

Stan Herschel, RMT regional organiser, accused Arriva of underplaying the disruption caused by the strikes, but was unrepentant.

He said: "Public support for the action is very, very solid and this will run until there is a satisfactory offer on the table."