Monday 20 February 2017 11:59 am

Fresh talks to go ahead between Southern rail and Aslef union to try and put the brakes on the strike saga

Fresh talks will be held between Southern rail and train drivers' union Aslef after members of the union rejected a previously agreed deal last week.

The agreement was expected to bring the row over the so-called driver-only operated trains to a close and end the ongoing industrial action that had disrupted the network, subject to the referendum of Aslef members.

But members rejected the proposed deal with 54.1 per cent voting no on a turnout of 72.7 per cent.

Now Southern's parent firm Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has said: "The lines of communication are open."

It has not provided further detail on where the talks will take place, though the PA said talks will be held in a secret location tomorrow without the involvement of conciliation service Acas or the TUC.

Aslef has been approached for comment.

Both Aslef and GTR said they would seek to reopen negotiations to try and find a way forward when the deal was rejected.

The deal had sparked criticism from the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union too, which called it a "shocking betrayal" of workers and passengers after seeing details of the deal. The RMT said the agreement would lead to de-staffing of trains.

The RMT, which remains in dispute with the train operator, announced a fresh 24-hour strike will take place on Wednesday 22 February.

Conductors will strike for 24 hours between 00:01 and 23:59, after fresh talks broke down last week. RMT general secretary Mick Cask said "the abject failure" by Southern to take safety issues seriously left the union "with no option but to confirm further action".

Nick Brown, chief operating officer of GTR, said: "We are disappointed that the RMT is going to heap yet further misery and disruption on the travelling public. We aim to run as full a service as we can."