MORE than 40,000 rail workers are set to hold another day of national strike action over pay, jobs and working conditions on October 8, RMT announced today.

The transport union, which had already confirmed walkouts at Network Rail and 15 train operators for October 1 – the seventh this year – said the industrial action will “effectively shut down the railway network.”

General secretary Mick Lynch said the union had met new Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who replaced Grant Shapps in Tory Prime Minister Liz Truss’s Cabinet reshuffle earlier this month.

“However, as no new offer has been tabled, our members have no choice but to continue this strike action,” he stressed.

The dispute, which concerns plummeting take-home wages and threats to cut thousands of safety critical jobs, saw guards and signalling staff withdraw their labour for three days in June, one in July and two in August, before September’s two 24-hour strikes were postponed by the Queen’s death.

Members of train drivers’ union Aslef are also due to walk out across 12 train operators on October 1 and 5 as they fight real-terms pay cuts.