Rail travellers are bracing themselves for a 48-hour strike across northern England after peace talks ended without agreement.

Leaders of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union met managers from Arriva Trains Northern but claimed that the company had made little effort to resolve a long-running dispute over pay.

The union's general secretary Bob Crow accused Arriva of treating workers with "contempt" following a recent announcement of a big increase in profits for Arriva's parent firm.

"They handed shareholders a five per cent rise but are still offering only three per cent to the people who do the work and create the profits.

"It is about time the company started looking for ways to solve this dispute instead of looking for new ways to penalise our members and the travelling public."

Union members have staged seven days of action over the past few months which has caused widespread disruption to train services.

The latest two-day stoppage will begin on Friday.