Drivers at Hull Trains, which links the Humberside city with Doncaster and London King’s Cross, plan to strike for eight weeks from Monday 31 March to Saturday 24 May. The walk-out by members of the train drivers’ union, Aslef, follows two days of strikes last week.

The union says Hull Trains “unfairly sacked a train driver who did nothing more than raise a safety concern in a company meeting”. It is understood the issue was self-reporting fatigue.

Aslef claims 100 per cent membership of train drivers and says the strikes “will cause serious disruption on the rail network” with most, if not all, services cancelled.

Aslef’s general secretary, Mick Whelan said: “The company’s failure to act responsibly has an impact – and enormous implications – not just for rail workers and passengers at the company but for staff and passengers right across the wider rail industry.

“This is a moral issue because we have a culture on the railway designed to keep everyone safe.

“Anyone who works on the railway should be able to report a safety concern without fearing they will be penalised, punished, or lose their livelihood. The company has behaved deplorably.”

“Our member has been driving trains for more than 20 years with a completely clean safety record.

“The company is punishing and penalising him for something he said, not for anything he has done. And what he said was perfectly polite, proper, and reasonable in the context of a safety meeting.”

The Independent has asked Hull Trains for a response.

Passengers will be able to switch to a combination of LNER, Northern and TransPennine Express trains.