Elizabeth Line staff are set to strike for the first time after having overwhelmingly voted in favour of taking industrial action. 

The workers, who are employees of Rail for London Infrastructure (RfLI), and are members of the Prospect union have voted 94% in favour of going on strike. 

The Elizabeth line links Reading through London and Heathrow Airport all the way to Shenfield in Essex, and services Ealing through stops in: Southall, Hanwell, West Ealing, North Ealing, Ealing Broadway, and Acton Main Line. 

A spokesperson for Prospect said in a statement: "London Underground workers have received 8.4% as did MTR who operate the trains on the Elizabeth Line.  

"This means pay rates for Prospect members working for RfLI are well behind equivalent roles in LU and other rail operators.  

"In a statutory ballot 94% voted for strike action with 92% voting for action short of a strike on a turnout well above the regulatory threshold of 50%." 

Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect added: "Our members have worked incredibly hard to get the Elizabeth Line ready to go safely into operation yet they are being treated significantly worse than equivalent workers on the rest of London's network. 

"The Elizabeth Line itself is now bringing in large extra passenger revenue for TfL and is underspent on its budget so there really ought to be room for some movement on pay. 

"Our members don't want to go on strike but pay is so far behind inflation that they simply cannot manage. 

"We remain open to negotiation and it is our hope that RfLI will come back to the table with an offer sufficient to avert industrial action." 

This comes after rejecting a 4% pay increase and a 4.4% increase for next year, which the union described as being "well below" current rates of inflation. 

Howard Smith, Director of the Elizabeth Line for TfL, said: "Strikes are bad news for everyone, and we urge Prospect to work with us and avoid the need for industrial action."