A union boss has raised hopes that future rail strikes in Scotland could be averted as he suggested a deal in the dispute over pay could be reached "in the next week or so".
The general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) Mick Lynch offered an olive branch as his members began a 48-hour walkout over pay and conditions.
ScotRail has warned passengers to only commute if necessary as Network Rail workers hit the picket line for the second time this week. The dispute does not involve the nationalised firm but it will have a major impact on its services.
Network Rail employees who are in safety-critical roles such as signallers and maintenance staff will be on strike.
Talks between Lynch and the UK Government's Rail Minister Huw Merriman failed to make a breakthrough but the RMT boss remains confident.
He said: "We know that the public will be upset and even angry about the disruption. Some of that anger should be put towards the Government and the companies, we believe.
"But the disruption for people on the strike days that are actually happening at Christmas will be minimal. The railway shuts down on Christmas Eve in any case to do engineering works, so there aren't scheduled trains on Christmas Day, nor on Boxing Day, and the railway curtails its activities early on Christmas Eve. That will be a little bit earlier than usual.
"But people have got time now to make plans. And I hope that they're successful in that, and that we can progress these talks to maybe get some solutions in the next week or so."
RMT members will take industrial action today and tomorrow, then on Christmas Eve to December 27. There are further planned strikes for January 3 and 4 and from January 6 and 7.
Lynch struck an optimistic note about the prospect of reaching a compromise that could avert further rail strikes. There will now be further talks "in order to find resolutions" - while the strikes continue.
Asked what it would take to call off next week's walkouts, he said: "Resolutions to disputes are about compromises. We understand what the companies want and they understand what we need.
"So we need some compromise on some of the conditions they're putting on the offer and we'll need an improvement in the pay offer. That is achievable, in my view."
He added: "I know that there are some very simple steps that the employers and ourselves could take together to get a solution to this. That means a common-sense approach - both sides get into a position where there's some commonly held positions.
"And I think we could do that in the next period. And if that is done very quickly, we can consider the industrial action going forward."
Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: "The RMT has deliberately chosen to try and ruin Christmas for millions of passengers and businesses.
"They're also intent on inflicting a monumental act of harm on an industry still desperate to recover from post Covid challenges by sabotaging a vital £100m programme of rail upgrades planned for Christmas Day and Boxing Day."
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