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Southern Rail drivers have voted to accept a pay deal which will bring an end to the longest-running industrial dispute in the history of Britain's railways.

Drivers voted by 4-1 to accept a deal to end their long-running dispute over driver-only-operated trains. They had been offered a 28 per cent pay rise over the next five years.

It is set to bring an end to the ongoing misery suffered daily by hundreds of thousands of commuters on Southern services.

The average UK wage growth over the last year was 2.1 per cent.

Members of Aslef, the train drivers' union backed the deal, which includes a 28.5 per cent pay rise over the next five years, by 731 votes to 193, a majority of 79 per cent.

Turnout in the ballot was 87 per cent.

Govia Thameslink Railway, the parent company of Southern Rail, has been in dispute with the union over working practices on driver-only-operated trains.

The agreement means that there will be a second safety-trained person on every train covered by the Southern Rail deal except in "exceptional circumstances", Aslef confirmed.

Drivers on Southern Rail were also offered a five-year pay deal which covered October 2016 to 2020 pay settlements.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: "Our members on Southern, after careful consideration, and long and hard negotiations, have voted to accept this resolution to our industrial dispute with the company.

"We are pleased with a resolution which, we believe, works for the staff, and the company, and we now look forward to working with Southern Rail to restore good industrial relations and deliver the service passengers in the region deserve."

Mr Whelan added: "It's important to stress that this deal is company-specific and does not have any implications for any other train operating company on Britain's railway network."

The dispute started in April last year, leading to a series of strikes by drivers which crippled services, causing huge disruption for Southern's 300,000 passengers.

Responding to the announcement, Nick Brown, chief operating officer at Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “This dispute has been difficult for our passengers in particular and we are pleased that we can now move ahead and deliver stability by finally concluding this deal with Aslef.

“Our trains will be planned to have a second person on board and this has been the arrangement we have operated over the last year.

He added: “Should, in certain circumstances, a train not have that second person on board then it will still be able to run until a replacement can be provided. Avoiding cancellations is key to us delivering a resilient and reliable service across the busiest and most congested part of the UK rail network.

The announcement was made as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) on Southern, and four other train operators, went on strike in a separate dispute over the role of guards on Thursday.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said the result did not change his union's campaign.

"This shoddy deal extends and institutionalises discrimination against disabled and older people," he said.

Mr Cash added: "Where such passengers who required assistance were once guaranteed a second member of staff to assist, a new clause in this deal deliberately sets out where there is no on-board supervisor the driver will knowingly have to leave such passengers stranded on trains and stations. That is frankly appalling."