Train drivers have overwhelmingly voted to continue their strike action for the next six months in a protracted dispute with the train operators over pay.
Union Aslef said it carried out ballots at 12 of the UK train operators with what it said were large votes in favour of industrial action from each vote.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said his members “are in this for the long haul”.
“Our members – who have not had a pay rise for nearly five years now – are determined that the train companies – and the Tory government that stands behind them – do the right thing.”
Rail workers and the operating companies have been locked in a dispute for 18 months, though one of the unions, the RMT, which represents guards and signallers, yesterday agreed to settle for a backdated 5% pay rise.
Aslef’s latest round of industrial action starts today with an eight-day-long overtime ban and a series of one-off strikes across the network.