Union bosses have confirmed that more train strikes are to go ahead next month, affecting thousands of commuters in the lead up to Christmas.
On Wednesday, Rail Union RMT announced plans to put on a series of 48-hour strikes in December and January as negotiators have failed to come to an agreement.
More than 40,000 members across Network and 14 train operating companies will stop work over eight days. Read on for everything you need to know about the upcoming action.
What days are RMT striking?
Workers will be taking industrial action on December 13, 14, 16 and 17 as well as January 3, 4, 6 and 7.
There will also be an overtime ban across the railways from December 18 until January 2, meaning RMT will be taking industrial action for four weeks.
Are ScotRail services going to be affected?
![](https://i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/article28565223.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_JS262291279.jpg)
While ScotRail staff are not participating in the industrial action, the operator has warned that strikes will have a "severe" impact on their services north of the border.
The disruption is due to Network Rail Scotland signallers and maintenance staff in "safety-critical" roles who are set to walkout.
ScotRail is currently working on its timetable plans for the strike days.
As of now, all UK train lines are likely to be affected by the on the above dates, according to ticket seller Trainline.com. Updates on affected services will be provided once they have been finalised.
Will the trains to London be disrupted?
Network Rail have said customers of their many lines including Avanti West Coast which offers direct transport between London and Edinburgh.
Customers will experience "significant disruption" on these dates and in the immediate days afterward.
Is there a strike this weekend?
A separate industrial action by ASLEF is going ahead on November 26 and 27. The strike will impact the services of 12 UK-wide train operators.
ScotRail has said it is running a normal service as the ASLEF strike does not involve its workers.
This weekend's industrial action will see reduced services and disruption for the following UK lines:
- Avanti West Coast
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Great Western Railway
- Greater Anglia
- London North Eastern Railway
- London Northwestern Railway
- Northern Trains
- Southeastern
- Transpennine Express
- West Midlands Railway
Why is RMT striking?
![](https://i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/article28417148.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_JS282341703.jpg)
Union bosses have accused the Government of interfering in reaching a settlement and cited a failure of rail bosses to offer new deals in negotiations.
The RMT previously suspended strike action to allow for negotiations to resolve the dispute, but claim that negotiators have failed to make better offers on jobs, pay and conditions during the last two weeks of discussions.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "This latest round of strikes will show how important our members are to the running of this country and will send a clear message that we want a good deal on job security, pay and conditions for our people."
"We have been reasonable, but it is impossible to find a negotiated settlement when the dead hand of government is presiding over these talks."
"In the meantime, our message to the public is we are sorry to inconvenience you, but we urge you to direct your anger and frustration at the government and railway employers during this latest phase of action."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter here.