A TRAIN company said it plans to run a normal service as possible on routes in Gwent despite a train driver strike next Monday.

Arriva Trains Wales said that due to industrial action taken by members of the RMT union no Valley Lines services will operate next Tuesday.

But that doesn't include services between Ebbw Vale Parkway and Cardiff Central, as they are operated by mainline driving staff. ATW is planning to run a normal service on other routes.

RMT members are striking after the union failed to come to an agreement with the train operator over pay.

It claimed ATW dragged out negotiations over an offer which union general secretary Bob Crow described as paltry.

But the firm said it had since replaced the offer in dispute by the RMT with a better option, and that the ASLEF union recommended the pay offer to its members who drive for the company.

ATW said ASLEF is currently holding a referendum vote on the offer which is due to conclude in January.

Yesterday the company claimed the final offer covered a period of 23 months from August 2010 and takes the basic salary for drivers from £34,824 to £39,117 in two stages.

The overall value of the 23 month deal represents an increase of 12 per cent, a company spokeswoman said.

An RMT, which has over 100 drivers at the company, spokesman said ATW were trying to massage figures to suit their own purposes, and added that the deal still leaves its members among the lowest paid train drivers in Britain.