UNDER-FIRE transport group Arriva has denied that it has banned its drivers from talking to the media.

The Sunderland rail and bus operator has faced a barrage of criticism from passenger groups recently.

Arriva has been forced to cut train services in the region over recent months because of a shortage of drivers, causing severe disruption.

It was then revealed that managing director Nigel Patterson had quit his £80,000-a-year job.

The Northern Echo has been told that drivers for the company have been told they cannot talk to the media.

A disgruntled employee, who did not want to be named, said: "Our pay and conditions have not changed for the better, yet the management do not seem to care.

"We are not supposed to talk to the press now about the trouble that there is here."

Arriva spokeswoman Julie Jobling said: "There has been no directive sent out to employees not to talk to the media.

"If someone has a concern about the company there is a procedure that they should go through internally, and we expect our staff to do that.

"Drivers should, though, be focused on doing their job, which is driving and developing a high-quality service for customers."

Last year Arriva bus drivers in County Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire staged a series of one-day strikes in a wages dispute.

The rail drivers' union, ASLEF, is currently in talks with the company over pay and conditions.

Many drivers have left for bigger rail operators such as GNER, which pays about £10,000 more a year.

Arriva, which took over the Trans-Pennine express rail franchise from Northern Spirit, says it is working hard to recruit new drivers and is expected to add a further 170 to its workforce next year.