“What we saw in the last months were thousands of kids being unable to get to school, thousands of parents being unable to get work [and] small businesses massively inconvenienced all because of irresponsible actions,” he said.

If the new action goes ahead, it will make the entire Sydney rail network free for commuters, costing the government millions of dollars each month in forfeited fare revenue.

The government has previously received legal advice suggesting that the move to deactivate Opal readers is illegal, which has been disputed by the unions.

The dispute between the rail unions and the government over pay and modifications to the state’s new intercity train fleet has also caused sporadic disruptions to train services over recent months.

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