Travel by rail only if absolutely necessary on Saturday, passengers warned

Only one in five trains are running as more than 40,000 RMT union members begin 24-hour strike

Passengers have been warned to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary on Saturday, when a national strike means only one in five of normal scheduled services are due to run.

More than 40,000 members of the RMT union, including most Network Rail signallers and train crew and staff at 15 operating companies, are striking for 24 hours in the long-running dispute over pay and working conditions. Hundreds of TSSA members at three train operators are also on strike, while others will refuse to act as contingency staff.