Members of the biggest rail workers’ union have voted to end their long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

Those in the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport) union voted to accept a deal from train companies, ending its part in a long series of strikes over 18 months, which caused repeated havoc for passengers.

Its dispute has been over pay, job security and conditions.

The union has now agreed to an offer, which included a backdated pay rise of 5% for 2022-23 as well as job security guarantees.

The scrapping of plans to close railway ticket offices also helped break the deadlock.

This means union members will no longer take industrial action until at least next spring.

General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our members have spoken in huge numbers to accept this unconditional pay offer and no compulsory redundancies until the end of 2024.

"I want to congratulate them on their steadfastness in this long industrial campaign.

“We will be negotiating further with the train operators over reforms they want to see. And we will never shy away from vigorously defending our members terms and conditions, now or in the future.

“This campaign shows that sustained strike action and unity gets results and our members should be proud of the role they have played in securing this deal.”

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) represents both passengers and rail companies.

A spokesman said: “This welcome vote from RMT members will unlock a pay rise for our people, and means that fair agreements have now been reached with three out of the four unions involved in the recent industrial dispute.”

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “This is a significant step towards resolving industrial disputes on the railway, giving workers a pay rise before Christmas and a pathway to delivering long overdue reforms.

But train drivers from Aslef will continue with rolling strikes with staff at different train companies carrying out industrial action on different days from Saturday until December 8.

Those working for Southeastern and Southern/Gatwick Express, will stop work on Wednesday.

The RDG spokesman said: “The Aslef leadership’s decision to call further industrial action means passengers still face disruption in December, despite an offer remaining on the table which would see basic driver salaries increase from £60k to £65k for a four-day week.

“We want to reach a fair agreement which will get more trains running on time and put the railway on a sustainable footing, at a time when taxpayers are contributing an extra £54 million a week to keep services running post-Covid.”