Train strikes are set to affect Hertfordshire's railways again at the end of this month.

The strikes have been called by Aslef, the largest union of train drivers, and will affect lines on Tuesday, January 30 and Friday, February 2.

Great Northern and Thameslink trains through stations such as Stevenage, Hitchin, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and St Albans City will be affected on Tuesday, January 30.

Then, on Friday, February 2, LNER trains through Stevenage will be affected by the strike.

LNER said that the strike will have a "significant" effect on their services on that day, with further details to be provided in due course.

In addition to the strike, there will an overtime ban in place across Thameslink, Great Northern and LNER services from Monday, January 29 until Tuesday, February 6.

Aslef said it wanted to put pressure on “intransigent” train operating companies as well as the “tone-deaf Tory government” to give train drivers their first pay rise in almost five years.

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it has now been a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport. It’s clear they do not want to resolve this dispute.

“Many of our members have not had a single penny increase to their pay for half a decade, during which time inflation has soared and, with it, the cost of living.

“Train drivers didn’t even ask for an increase during the Covid-19 pandemic when we worked throughout lockdown as key workers, risking our lives, to move goods around the country and to enable NHS and other workers to get to work.

“There is, frankly, no excuse for this nonsense. The Government and train operating companies (TOCs) should come to the table with a realistic offer so we can end this dispute and work together to ensure the future of our railways."

The strike may be the first test of Minimum Service Levels legislation. If train companies choose to implement the new rules, they can require some staff to work to ensure that forty per cent of timetabled services can run.

It is not yet clear whether Great Northern, Thameslink or LNER will implement the rules.

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said that the new law "won't ease industrial strife. It will likely just make it worse".

A spokesperson for the prime minister described the strikes as "extremely disappointing", and said that the rail companies had made "a fair and reasonable offer".

Aslef's executive committee previously rejected an offer that would have seen drivers get a four per cent pay rise for two years in a row, on condition that they accept changes to driver training and work patterns.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Aslef is now the only rail union that is continuing to strike while refusing to put a fair and reasonable offer to its members.

“The offer that remains on the table and would bring the average train driver’s salary up to £65,000.

“The Aslef leadership should do the right thing and let their members decide their own future, instead of deciding it for them.”

Strikes by members of the RMT union, which represents tens of thousands of other rail workers, ended in November after they accepted a pay rise.