The boss of Network Rail has compared the past year of train strikes to the Iraq war, saying rail leaders need to “build the peace” with workers in a way that British and US victors over Saddam Hussein failed to do. Andrew Haines, the chief executive of the body responsible for Britain’s railway infrastructure, said the “warfare” was over but the lessons of Iraq were “ringing in his ears”. Although unions have not reached a deal with train operators, where strikes continue, the RMT ended hostilities with Network Rail on Monday. The union’s members voted by three to one to accept a 9% pay deal in a referendum, after more than nine months of on-off strikes. Related: Rail strikes: RMT votes to accept Network Rail pay offer Now, Haines said, his “priority was to build the peace with our workers, colleagues and stakeholders who see the railway as dysfunctional”. Haines said he had been listening to the Rest is Politics podcast, hosted by Alastair Campbell, a key Downing Street figure at the time of the 2003 Iraq war, and Rory Stewart, who became a governor of part of post-invasion Iraq. Recalling the overthrow of Saddam’s regime, Haines told a rail...