According to a vote by a railway union, passengers could face six more months of strikes by thousands of railway workers.
Members of the RMT union, who work at Network Rail and 14 railway companies, have voted for further action.
More strikes are likely unless a national dispute over pay, job security and working conditions is resolved.
The rail operators said passengers were “dismayed by this result” and that further strikes would be counterproductive.
The dispute between unions, railway companies and the government has been going on for a long time.
Unions say salaries should rise to reflect the rising cost of living.
The rail industry is under pressure to save money as people left a hole in their finances in the wake of the pandemic. Rail bosses say reforms need to be agreed to allow wage increases.
Much of the RMT dispute revolves around Network Rail’s plans to change the way maintenance teams work, including cutting 1,900 jobs.
Network Rail recently proposed an amended offer that does not include mandatory job cuts until early 2025.
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The RMT said on Wednesday that votes for further strike action had been overwhelmingly supported by members.
The Rail Delivery Group, which represents railway companies, called on the RMT to “continue to work with us to agree on the crucial reforms needed to both enable a fair wage deal and secure a sustainable future for the railways.” currently more than their own fair share claimed by the taxpayer”.
“Further counterproductive strike action would only inflict more misery on our customers and struggling businesses in the run-up to Christmas and further undermine the viability of an industry we all want to see thrive,” said Steve Montgomery, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group.
Railway workers in the RMT have already participated in 8 days of strikes this year, which began at the end of June.
Strikes due to take place earlier this month were called off at the eleventh hour to allow for a period of “intense” negotiations.
Irrespective of this, the Aslef union has already announced its last strike on November 26 in the wage dispute. 12 railway companies are affected.
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