Rail users face travel misery from a series of one-day strikes by conductors in a pay row with Arriva Trains Northern.

The result of a ballot by disgruntled staff who belong to the Railways, Transport-ation and Maritime Workers union was today expected to give the go-ahead for the industrial action which is planned to start on Thursday or Friday next week.

Unrest among conductors employed by the company has been stirred by the growing gulf between their pay levels and those of train drivers. The results of a ballot of the company's station staff over industrial action is also expected next week.

A strike involving all 700 members of the union would sideline Arriva's trains and bring the regional network in northern England to a standstill.

Allen Heath, regional organiser of RMT, was in no doubt that his members have voted for a walk-out.

He said: "This is going to be a long, drawn out affair and I cannot see how we are going to be able to resolve it for a very long time. Arriva won't enter into any more discussions. It is stalemate."

Arriva offered train drivers a 17.6 per cent pay rise and £400 Christmas bonus last year in a bid to stop them quitting the firm for rival companies. But guards and station staff, who earn between £15,000 and £19,000 a year, are furious they have been offered a rise of four per cent.

"We don't disagree that drivers have a lot of responsibility but at the moment their rate of pay is almost twice as good as ours," said Mr Heath. "The conductor plays a vital role. He is in charge of the train, he meets the public and faces the risk of being verbally or physically abused."

He said he is sorry for the disruption that will be experienced by long-suffering rail commuters.

"We don't mean to punish passengers, but inevitably they are going to suffer," he said.

The fortunes in the pay of the conductors and drivers have contrasted remarkably in recent years.

In 1998 many drivers received only £2,000 more than conductors in their annual wage packet. But the recent pay offers mean some drivers will now be taking home £25,000-a-year more than some conductors, according to Mr Heath.

Arriva spokeswoman Julie Jobling would not discuss the possibility of a strike. "Salary negotiations are between Arriva and its employees," she said.