Train drivers of eight rail companies confirmed they will strike on 30 July following a pay dispute, according to their trade union Aslef.
Mick Whelan, Aslef general secretary, said: "We don't want to go on strike - strikes are the result of a failure of negotiation - and this union since I was elected general secretary in 2011, has only ever been on strike, until this year, for a handful of days.
"The drivers at the companies where we are striking have had a real terms pay cut over the last three years - since April 2019.”
Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains are the confirmed companies to walk out.
Whelan insisted the rail companies have not offered the union anything, claiming their hands were tied by the Tory government.
"Strike action is, now, the only option available but we are always open to talks if the train companies, or the government, want to talk to us and make a fair and sensible offer," he added.
Whelan has publicly denied some politicians’ claims that issuing pay rises could worsen inflation.
This comes just a day after the RMT union confirmed its members at rail operators and Network Rail would strike for 24 hours on 27 July.