Strike news – latest: Commuters returning to work after Christmas brace for travel disruption as industrial action continues

Bemused passengers at London Paddington who had followed advice to check trains before departure have discovered that the planned resumption of services has been delayed – with no certainty about when they might begin.

Engineering work outside the terminus has overrun, blocking the entrance to North Pole depot – meaning trains are trapped.

Many cancellations are anticipated for travellers between London, the West of England and South Wales.

As the latest national rail strike ended, passengers the length and breadth of Britain found the nation’s trains in disarray.

The four-day stoppage by members of the RMT union working for Network Rail ended at 6am.

At London Paddington station, hub for Great Western Railway services to the West of England and South Wales, as well as the Heathrow Express, a steady stream of would-be passengers were turned away. Many had pre-booked tickets for trains that had been cancelled.

Our travel correspondent Simon Calder reports:

Crowds of people were left waiting at major train stations across London and beyond amid ongoing disruption despite the end of a rail strike on Tuesday.

Photos showed hundreds of passengers packed inside King’s Cross and Paddington, with some journeys delayed due to the late handover of engineering works.

South Western Railway also apologised to customers after a service from Waterloo to Southampton was postponed due to a “train fault”.

To the fury of rail passengers across Britain, the resumption of train services after a four-day Christmas strike turned into a shambles in many locations.

At London Paddington, hub for the west of England and South Wales, thousands of travellers hoping to return home after Christmas breaks turned up to catch trains that did not exist.

My colleague Simon Calder reports:

Driving examiners will launch a five-day strike today as part of escalating industrial action by civil servants in a dispute over pay, jobs and pensions.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) in 71 test centres in eastern England and the Midlands will walk out.

They are employed by the Driver and Vehicles Standards Agency (DVSA) as driving examiners and local driving test managers.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “Our members have been offered a pay rise of just two per cent at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is above 10 per cent.

Travel disruption is expected across railways again today, with many commuters returning to work following the Christmas break, as industrial action by rail workers continues.

Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) at Great Western Railway will walk out from noon to 11.59am on Thursday, and at West Midlands Trains for 24 hours from noon until the same time on Thursday.