Waves of strikes to hit the lines

Some 12,000 workers voted 89 per cent in favour of industrial action, with a resounding 77 per cent supporting strikes to fight back against plans to throw 1,500 experienced engineers and track safety workers on the dole.

Executives were hit with the threat of the biggest rail strikes for 15 years after Office of Rail Regulation watchdog chief Bill Emery warned the company just last week that he would have "no hesitation in taking immediate action if safety to passengers or employees is put at risk" by the cuts.

The watchdog's report charged that managers were forcing through "reductions in safety-critical working hours, cutting back on safety lookouts and failing to carry out practical tests" on the effect of their plans.

Rail workers' union RMT leader Bob Crow stressed that workers had been "faced with a stark choice in this ballot.

"They could have either sat back to wait for these cash-led maintenance cuts to lead to another major disaster on Britain's railways, or they could have voted to take action to stop the attack on rail safety - and they have overwhelmingly voted to take action."

Mr Crow explained that "the cuts drawn up by Network Rail would drag us back to the dark days of Railtrack and would make another Hatfield, Potters Bar or Grayrigg disaster an inevitability.

"But our members are determined to win this dispute and stop this reckless gamble with rail safety," he declared.

The dispute is set to escalate when another strike vote among 5,000 Network Rail signalling workers is revealed next week, while white-collar rail union TSSA reps will add to the pressure on rail bosses today by announcing the result of a ballot among 2,000 of the firm's workers, including supervisors, in a row over more job cuts.

TSSA leader Gerry Doherty added to the cascade of rail workers' resistance by also declaring the start of a vote for industrial action among 1,600 essential electrical controllers.

The workers, who are in charge of supplying power to rail tracks throughout Britain, are to vote on a miserly 0.8 per cent pay offer and Mr Doherty pointed out that workers had had enough of rail bosses' mounting attacks on staff.

These attacks prove that executives are "taking a high-handed approach to the workforce," he asserted.

"Directors Iain Coucher and Peter Bennett are more interested in trying to impress Tory leader David Cameron with their macho style of management than sitting down and reaching a sensible agreement," he added.

Tomorrow more than 550 guards and drivers at First Scotrail are also set to strike - for the third time - against plans to impose driver-only trains on a new Edinburgh to Glasgow line.

RMT will be holding a demonstration over the cuts on Friday outside the Network Rail offices at Kings Place, 90 York Way, London.