TALKS are to be held in a bit do avert a strike by thousands of Network Rail workers which would paralyse train services across Scotland and the rest of the UK over the Bank Holiday.

The RMT union announced yesterday its members will stage a 24-hour walkout from 5pm on Monday May 25, bringing the country's rail network to a standstill.

But the conciliation service Acas has now said it will hold talks between the RMT and rail operator Network Rail.

A statement said: "The chief executive of Network Rail has written to Sir Brendan Barber, the chair of Acas, asking us to reconvene talks with RMT, TSSA and Unite in an attempt to find a way of resolving the current dispute.

"We have been in contact with all three trade unions and they have accepted the invitation to attend talks, which will take place in London, on Monday morning."

Rail passengers have been warned that services will be non-existent the morning after the Bank Holiday if the strike goes ahead.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, including signallers and maintenance staff, are also set to ban overtime for 48 hours on the Bank Holiday Monday and Tuesday.

The union said services will be hit from the Monday but warned that the biggest impact will be on the Tuesday. "Services will be at a standstill," said one official.

The strike will affect a programme of Network Rail engineering work being conducted over the bank holiday weekend.

The strike announcement follows a huge 4-1 vote for action from RMT members, well above a planned threshold being brought in by the new Government. The action poses the first big industrial relations test for the Conservatives.

The RMT said it has rejected the latest Network Rail (NR) pay proposals as falling "well short" of what is required to maintain the living standards, job security and working conditions for nearly 16,000 staff across NR operations and maintenance.

Union members have rejected a four-year deal worth £500 this year and three years of increases matching RPI inflation as well as a no-compulsory-redundancy commitment to December 2016.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Our members have decisively rejected the pay package offered by Network Rail and the failure of the company to make any moves whatsoever in light of the overwhelming vote in the ballot has left us with no option but to move to a rolling programme of industrial action.

"We have a massive mandate for action which shows the anger of safety-critical staff across the rail network at attacks on their standards of living and their job security."

It will be the first national rail strike since 1994. The walkout is likely to force people to drive, raising the prospect of traffic chaos.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) is also balloting its members at NR for strikes over the same issue, with the result due later today. The union represents white-collar staff.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "I condemn any industrial action that disrupts the travelling public. Network Rail has put a fair offer on the table and has sought further talks with the unions.

"Rail passengers will not thank the unions for inflicting this unnecessary disruption."

Mark Carne, Network Rail's chief executive, said: "This strike is deliberately timed to cause maximum disruption to families trying to enjoy the half-term break and millions more returning to work after the bank holiday. I find it deplorable that the RMT can hold the travelling public to ransom in this way.

"This week we have been talking to Acas to try to get the RMT back around the table. The public knows only too well that our railway must improve. We want to work with the unions so that we can reward our staff through improved productivity.