Passengers planning to use trains this morning have been warned that services are expected to start later after strikes by rail workers ended.
It comes as anyone looking to use rail services has been told to avoid travel for two weeks as the industry buckles under strike mayhem.
The RMT union ended their latest industrial action over a pay and conditions dispute at 6am this morning, meaning many trains will not begin running properly until 9am or later.
People looking to travel by train have been urged to double check their route, though Network Rail said 70 per cent of services will be running today – in the coming days this should rise to 90 per cent.
Around 40,000 workers from Network Rail and 14 train operating companies will strike again between January 3 and 7.
Rail services resume normal service today but passengers planning to use trains have been warned there may be delay in the morning (Pictured: Euston on Christmas Eve)
Anyone looking to use rail services has been told to avoid travel for two weeks as the industry buckles under strike mayhem
A spokesman for Network Rail told the BBC: ‘Staff are returning to work so it is [a] much later start-up for passenger services’
‘Passengers should really check before they travel so they don’t just turn up at a station for no trains to be there.’
ScotRail said also warned of disruption throughout the day. a spokesperson said: ‘Routes across the country will see services start up later than normal due to signal boxes opening at different times following industrial action.
RMT members are still affected by an overtime ban, with services likely to be cancelled.
Services will become more consistent for the next few days until the next strikes begin to occur, at which point only 20 per cent of normal services will be running.
Traffic built up on the M25 in Surrey, near Cobham, as people headed to the Boxing Day Sales
Drivers have been facing chaos on the roads in recent days due to the striking railway workers that forced thousands to ditch public transport.
A Network Rail spokesman said: ‘Rail passengers who use the West Coast mainline from London Euston to Carlisle and rail routes in the West midlands [the northwest], Merseyside and Cumbria are being advised to only travel by train is absolutely necessary between December 24 and January 8.’
The walkouts have been compounded by another strike from members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) working on Crossrail, which began at 9pm yesterday, affecting services across Britain.
In addition, TSSA workers on the Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains will depart work for 24 hours from midday today, leaving roles such as customer services, driver managers, trainers, control and safety unattended.
TSSA organising director Nadine Rae said: ‘Make no mistake, we will see trains coming to a halt unless rail bosses and the government do the right thing for our members and our precious rail network which so many people rely on.’
This week traffic crawled at 15mph in parts of the country as the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union shut down the rail network.
Hundreds of train routes weren’t available – and further disruption is expected this morning with many services setting off later than usual.
The AA had predicted heavy traffic with 15.2million set to travel yesterday after spending Christmas with family and friends.
Travellers at Euston train station in London on Friday at the start of the Christmas getaway
However, delays were worse than expected with serious traffic jams on the M6 and M1 as well as the A303.
Boxing Day sales and Premier League matches also added to the misery as thousands more travelled up and down the country.
In total, thousands of passengers were affected by yesterday’s rail shutdown – which also saw Eurostar services cancelled. It meant National Express saw record numbers of passengers book on to its coaches yesterday.
Last night Paul Charles of travel consultancy The PC Agency warned unions they were doing themselves ‘no favours’ if they went ahead with further strikes.
He said: ‘The public are getting fed up with the railway workers over continuous striking and it’s clear that support for the railway workers is ebbing away. They haven’t done themselves any favours by calling for strikes in the new year when many will be needing to get into work.’
A series of accidents on major roads also caused further problems on Boxing Day.
Two collisions took place on the M25 – with the second leaving drivers stuck in 13 miles of queues, according to traffic data company Inrix.
And a crash involving 12 cars on the M6 saw the motorway shut in Wigan in the afternoon.
By Friday afternoon there were long queues to head north out of London on the A13
The AA said: ‘The motorways were looking pretty ugly around about midday. It has been worse than we expected with serious delays.’
National Highways yesterday insisted its network of major roads were ‘performing well’ aside from the areas where accidents had taken place.
Andrew Haines, Network Rail’s chief executive, said: ‘The RMT is causing needless misery to its own members, to the railway and to the country’s economy.
‘I am so sorry that our passengers are having to bear the brunt of the RMT’s needless strike when a fair offer is on the table and when only a third of the workforce have rejected it.’
The Daily Mail was unable to reach the RMT for a response. But its general secretary Mick Lynch previously said: ‘Until the Government gives the rail industry a mandate to come to a negotiated settlement on job security, pay and conditions of work, our campaign will continue.’
