The first planned UK-wide rail strike in 16 years looks set to throw Easter travel plans into disarray, particularly in light of the recently announced strike action by British Airways cabin crew members that has caused Prime Minister Gordon Brown to speak out publicly over the industrial action – a rarity for a ruling PM.

The proposed Network Rail staff walk-outs surround disputes over changes to working conditions along with job and wage cuts. The unions claim that requested changes would severely compromise safety standards, something they are not prepared to accept, saying that much of the rail system dates back to nearly the steam age.

In what is anticipated as being the first national strike, the first ballot of some 15,000 maintenance workers will take place tomorrow. Additional ballots for some 5,000 signallers will take place later this week and are expected to result in around 20,000 staff striking, with all being from the critical maintenance and signal support teams.

Despite the bitter infighting, Network Rail has declared that it is determined to proceed with the planned changes, even as negotiations with the Transport Salaried Staffs Association Rail and the Maritime and Transport Unions continue. Director of Operations for Network Rail, Robin Grisby, declared that he would not stand by while the country is held ransom by the unions. Grisby claimed that Network Rail could handle any strike action, with supervisors and managers being drafted in to deal with the additional workload, although there was an acknowledgement that speed restrictions may be introduced.

Grisby also stated that the current situation clearly showed that a complete restructuring of Network Rail was necessary.