Train drivers and railway workers at Network Rail and 12 train operating companies, including Southeastern, will strike on three separate days in October in an ongoing row over pay.

Union ASLEF has confirmed that thousands of its members will walk out on Saturday, October 1 and Wednesday, October 5 while the RMT union says more than 30,000 of its members will down tools also on Saturday, October 1 and again on Saturday, October 8.

Industrial action both unions had voted to conduct in September was hastily called-off after the death of the Queen was announced.

But with the national period of mourning now over, and no sign of a deal with rail bosses in the pipeline, thousands of railway workers and train staff are gearing up to resume their separate campaigns of industrial action in an attempt to secure better pay for workers, which they say is being hit hard by the escalating cost of living.

The strike on Saturday, October 1 will end just a few hours before the start of the London Marathon on Sunday, October 2 - a move which is expected to disrupt the travel plans of thousands of participants and spectators.

The strikes by ASLEF, the train drivers union, will include drivers working at Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, LNER, London Overground, Northern Trains, Southeastern, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains.

With 96% of train drivers reportedly represented by ASLEF, previous strikes by the group have caused train services to grind to a complete halt with so few drivers available to keep the network running.

Mick Whelan, ASLEF general secretary, said: ‘We would much rather not be in this position. We don’t want to go on strike – withdrawing your labour, although a fundamental human right, is always a last resort for this trade union – but the train companies have been determined to force our hand.

"They are telling train drivers to take a real terms pay cut. With inflation now running at 12.3% – and set, it is said, to go higher – these companies are saying that drivers should be prepared to work just as hard, for just as long, but for considerably less.

"The companies with whom we are in dispute have not offered us a penny. It is outrageous that they expect us to put up with a real terms pay cut for a third year in a row. And that’s why we are going on strike."

With no fresh deal on the table, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that while it was encouraging the new Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP had met with the union, it had no choice but to continue striking.

He said: "We welcome this more positive approach from the government to engage with us as a first step to finding a suitable settlement.

"However, as no new offer has been tabled, our members have no choice but to continue this strike action. We will continue to negotiate in good faith, but the employers and government need to understand our industrial campaign will continue for as long as it takes," he added.

Eleven trade unions are also currently seeking a judicial review of government plans to allow companies to hire agency staff to replace striking workers.