Rail strikes: When are they and which trains are running?

Another rail strike takes place on Wednesday, which will disrupt services throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

Unions plan more action over the summer because of the ongoing dispute about jobs, pay and conditions.

More than 40,000 railway workers who are members of the RMT union will stage a one-day strike on Wednesday.

The walk-out coincides with the Uefa Women's Euro semi-final and one day before the opening of the Commonwealth Games, which are being held in Birmingham.

Around 20% of services will run but some parts of the country will have no trains at all.

Lines that are open will only be running from about 07:30 to 18:30 BST, and a special timetable is in place. The last trains from London will leave for Edinburgh at 14:00, for Birmingham at 15:43 and Manchester at 15:40.

Services will take a while to get back to normal, with more disruption expected on Thursday.

All train operators will be affected as the strike involves Network Rail staff, who maintain the railways in England, Scotland and Wales.

People working for these train operating companies are also going on strike:

About 5,500 train drivers at seven rail companies will strike. This also comes during the Commonwealth Games and is the first day of the English Football League season.

Thursday 18 and Saturday 20 August:

RMT members will go on strike again, with the same impact on services as 27 July.

Another union that represents rail workers, the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA), will also take part in industrial action on these days.

Staff working for seven companies will go on strike: Avanti West Coast, C2C, East Midlands Railway, CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, LNER and Southeastern. Staff at West Midlands Trains, Northern, Greater Anglia, TransPennine Express and Southeastern will take part in industrial action short of a strike.

Although it is not a strike day, disruption is also likely on 19 August.

The unions are in dispute with the government and rail companies over pay, job cuts and changes to terms and conditions.

Aslef says drivers need a pay rise, saying the rising cost of living means its members have effectively had a pay cut in recent years.

Network Rail says its latest offer is worth more than 5%, but that it depended on workers accepting "modernising reforms". However, the RMT says this is a "paltry sum" and represents "a real terms pay cut".

The RMT said another issue was plans by Network Rail to cut 2,500 maintenance jobs, as the company tries to save £2bn over the next two years. The union insists those jobs are safety-critical.

Network Rail says there would be no more than 2,000 job losses - and that all redundancies can be voluntary. It says it would not consider any changes that would make the railways less safe, but stresses modernisation is needed.

The TSSA is also demanding a pay rise which reflects the rising cost of living, as well as a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies and no unagreed changes to terms and conditions.

The government says the railway system needs modernisation and has to be financially sustainable for the long term. It says £16bn of taxpayers' money was used to support the railways during the Covid pandemic. However, with passenger numbers still down by one-fifth, it says changes are needed.

If your train is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled, National Rail says you are entitled to a refund from the retailer where you bought the ticket.

Season ticket holders who choose not to travel on strike days can claim compensation for those days.