The union of railway drivers, Aslef, has announced a week-long overtime ban at the start of July, which will further disrupt many parts of Britain's railways.
Although the union has stopped short of calling new strikes in the long-running pay dispute, the industrial action by about 12,000 drivers across the 16 English train operators is likely to cause more headaches for passengers.
The impact of the overtime ban on TransPennine Express will be different for various operators, but as the mass cancellations at TransPennine Express have shown, many firms still rely on rest-day working to run a full service.
Trains will remain normal within Wales, Scotland and London, where drivers are not in dispute, but intercity cross-border services will likely be affected.
Ballots for a renewed six-month strike triggered a surge in demand for re-election last week.
Once again, we find ourselves with no alternative but to take this action, said Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef. We have always come to the negotiating table in good faith, seeking to resolve this dispute.
Sadly, it is clear from the actions of both the train operating companies and the government that they do not want an end to the dispute. Their objectives appear to be to continue industrial strife and do down our industry.
We don't want to inconvenience the public. They just want to see our members paid fairly during a cost of living crisis when inflation is above 10%, and to not see our terms and conditions taken away. It is time for the government and the firms to think again and come up with a resolution. Drivers have been offered a 4% pay rise backdated to April 2022 and another 4% from April 2023, which Aslef dismissed as risible given previous pay freezes and the rate of inflation.
It included three days of strike action by drivers, and another by RMT train operating staff in late May and early June. The RMT union is still in dispute and may pursue further action.
Ministers and rail industry leaders have said there is no increased pay offer and have urged both unions to put the proposals to a full vote of their members.
Aslef announced earlier this week separate action at Avanti West Coast and LNER in disputes with the companies. Avanti will have a 24-hour strike on Sunday and a permanent overtime ban on LNER from the beginning of July.
This Wednesday marks the anniversary of the first RMT strike in the present dispute, with unions in rail and other sectors vowing to continue action for pay to keep up with the cost of living.