UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said at the weekend that the days of militant rail unions holding the country to ransom are numbered.
The politician told the Daily Mail that he has been working on a multi-pronged plan to crush hard-left union leaders for good.
He is preparing to serve them with section 188 legal warnings within weeks to force through reforms, including trains without guards.
And he said legislation requiring a minimum number of trains to be run in future strikes is "written and ready to go" for the new prime minister to pass through Parliament by autumn.
It comes only days ahead of the latest industrial action across Britain which will see ScotRail services slashed this Thursday and Saturday.
RMT members at Network Rail and 14 train operators are walking out in a row over jobs, pay and conditions.
ScotRail said this will lead to disruption on its services as Network Rail Scotland signallers and maintenance staff in safety-critical roles will be on strike.
North-east cut off again
The only ScotRail services on both days will be in the central belt - once again leaving the north-east cut off from other Scottish cities.
Scottish businesses, commuters and tourists will once again all be left counting the cost of the latest industrial action.
And the impact of the strikes will stretch beyond just Thursday and Saturday.
ScotRail explained that on Wednesday evening, on Friday and on Sunday morning there will be disruption caused by the closing and reopening of signal boxes at different times across the country.
Mr Shapps told the Daily Mail: "It won't make me at all popular with the unions, but I'm absolutely convinced passengers are on our side - they're fed up with this and they want to see the railway service running properly.
'We're going to win this...I'm afraid for the unions this is their last stand. Their days of holding passengers to ransom are numbered.
Network Rail has issued the RMT with a section 188 warning, meaning it can begin forcing through changes without its consent.
Minimum service levels could be in place by autumn, he said, adding: 'At the moment, the legislation is written and ready to go and looking for a slot in the legislative timetable in Parliament.