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As we near the end of today's coverage of the train strikes, here's a recap of the main developments:

• RMT leader Mick Lynch says his union will continue with strikes "until we reach a settlement"
• He also warned that the UK could be hit by a wave of strikes in "every sector of the economy"
• Network Rail's chief urged unions to put a proposed deal to its members
• The government accused unions of being "hell-bent on causing misery"
• Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner urged ministers to stop "inflaming disputes" and to "get around the table" to end the dispute
• While there's no national strike tomorrow, there's expected to be some knock on effects to the morning's trains, plus travel in London will be highly disrupted by fresh strikes, with underground, overground and bus services affected

Katy Austin
Transport correspondent

The overall picture is that about 20 percent of usual train services are able to run today, and they will finish earlier than normal.

Some people can now work from home who would normally commute but it's not an option for everybody, and a lot of leisure plans are being disrupted.

So are we any closure to a resolution in these ongoing disputes?

Well the tone of interviews by key players this morning was very much one of frustration, and the sense that not very much progress has been made towards agreements.

Network Rail does want the RMT union to put an offer that it rejected last month to its members to have their say. But generally union leaders are still saying they will push for a pay rise that reflects the increased cost of living, and they say job security and conditions need protecting.

Although no national strikes will take place on Friday, travellers could feel some leftover effects from today, particularly in the morning.

Travel in London, however, is set to be highly disrupted, with strikes affecting much of the underground, overground and bus networks. Transport for London (TfL) advises against all tube travel, and only on the rest of the network "if essential".

"If you need to travel, river services, London Cable Car and Santander Cycles will be available to help you get around," TfL says.

Here's how things are looking in the capital on Friday:

• London Underground: Severe disruption on all lines, and little to no services throughout the day. No Night Tube;
• London Overground: Late start. No Night Overground;
• Elizabeth line: Some disruption on branches;
• Trams: Reduced service;
• DLR: services into Bank running 07:00 to 18:30;
• Buses: Severe disruption in west and south west London and parts of Surrey. Some Night Bus routes limited

Katy Austin
Transport correspondent

Charley and Andy have Andy's mum to thank if they make their flight to Turkey from Gatwick Airport today.

She alerted them to the fact today's strike coincided with the start of their holiday to Bodrum, on the Aegean Sea, which they’d been planning for two years.

They arrived with four boys in tow at Norwich Station 90 minutes before they originally planned, but they're still among the lucky ones.

They originally looked into getting a car down to Gatwick – a distance of about 150 miles (240km) – but that would have cost them an extra £300.

So they came to the station several days ago and spoke to staff, who explained that even though there would be a limited service due to the strike action, it would still be possible to get to the airport.

Standing outside Liverpool Lime Street station this morning, striking rail workers expressed sadness about the need to resort to industrial action to try and secure a pay rise.

"We're in a cost of living crisis, and we’re being told to show restraint in our pay claims, but the people who aren’t showing restraint are the energy companies," Gary Kilroy, Merseyside branch general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), told the BBC.

Kilroy continued:

Liverpool Street services were reduced to two departures per hour due to the strikes.

Staff from the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) were also on the picket line.

RMT's Darren Pilling thanked the public for their support, saying there was a "vacuum" at the top of the government.

He added:

With just 20% of services running, today's strikes are likely to cause widespread disruption for people attending events - here are just a few examples.

In London this includes West Ham’s Europa Conference League qualifying tie against Danish side Viborg FF, which is due to kick off at 19:45 BST at London Stadium in Stratford.

Those attending the Pokemon World Championships, at London’s Excel Centre, could also be affected, c2c says, external.

Further north, London North Eastern Railway has warned those attending the Ebor Races , externalhave been warned to check the times of the last trains back from York.

The four-day horse racing meet runs from 17 - 20 August, so will also be affected by Saturday's strike.

And Comedian Nish Kumar is set to perform in Weymouth, with at least one disappointed punter set to miss out.

Emmanuel Moine is the general manager of the Glen Mhor Hotel in Inverness.

He told BBC Scotland how hotels across the Highlands have had cancellations as a result of the train strikes.

He said: "We have had some cancellations and the hotel is 60 or 70% full when we should be fully booked.

"We are in August so obviously it has an impact on the tourism."

Moine is also the chairman of the Highland Hotels Association which represents 20 chain and independently-operated hotels.

He said other hoteliers have noticed similar downturns in business.

"I've been speaking to every hotelier in Inverness and we have the same problem.

"We had a great tourist season, but we do our best to correct the problem and it's not helping.

You can read more about the impact on rail services in Scotland here.

Image source, Getty Images

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said that the median salary for the rail sector is £44,000. But is it?

The BBC has looked into this, and it depends who you include.

These are the Office of National Statistics' median salary figures for five different categories of workers:

• Rail travel assistants - £33,310 - includes ticket collectors, guards and information staff
• Rail construction and maintenance operatives - £34,998 - they lay and repair tracks
• Rail transport operatives - £48,750 - includes signallers and drivers' assistants
• Train and tram drivers - £59,189
• Workers who build and repair engines and carriages - £46,753

The ONS have calculated a median figure of £43,747 across these five categories.

However, if train drivers are not included - and they have not been involved in the RMT strikes - the ONS figure is £36,800.

However, the RMT says 10,000 of its members are cleaners, who are lower paid.

It says that if you take the £44,000 figure, exclude the drivers and include cleaning staff you get a median figure of £33,000.

As we've been reporting, Transport Minister Grant Shapps has had some strong words for the strikers, saying the unions are "hell-bent on causing as much misery as possible to the very same taxpayers who stumped up £600 per household to ensure not a single rail worker lost their job during the pandemic".

He also wrote in the Daily Mail yesterday, setting out a plan to tackle "Luddite trade unions".

It included changes to the rules on taking industrial action, such as setting minimum service levels during strikes, and requiring more ballots of union members.

This prompted ire from Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner.

"Instead of doing their jobs, Tory ministers are dreaming up reckless anti-union laws that would inflame disputes, risk passenger safety, and weaken employment rights," she said.

"Shapps could resolve this strike with a one-point plan: him getting around the table and doing his job."

The government has said it will not bring in major policy initiatives until the new leader is in place in September, but it did pass legislation earlier in the summer to allow businesses to use agency workers to fill in for striking staff.

Image source, Getty Images

On Friday, an RMT strike will affect both the London Underground and London Overground in separate disputes over pensions and pay. Transport for London(TfL) says people should avoid the Tube, which will have little or no services running, and only use the rest of the network if essential.

Some bus services will also be affected as drivers take part in a strike called by the Unite union. TfL has published a list of the routes, external likely to be affected.

On Saturday, the RMT and TSSA will go on strike again. The effect on services is expected to be the same as today, although some services will run on one of the days but not the other. Disruption is likely to continue into Sunday morning.

Unite's London bus strike will also continue for a second day.

Looking beyond this week, RMT leader Mick Lynch said his union will continue with strikes "until we reach a settlement" with Network Rail and other operators.

Image source, Getty Images

Or need a recap? Here are the latest developments as the UK faces another day of rail strikes:

• RMT leader Mick Lynch says his union will continue with strikes "until we reach a settlement" with Network Rail and other operators
• He also warned that the UK could be brought by a standstill by a wave of strikes hitting "every sector of the economy"
• The chief of Network Rail says the dispute can be unlocked by putting a proposed deal to union members
• Only 20% of services are running and passengers are being warned only to travel by train if necessary
• The government says the unions are "hell-bent on causing misery" for travellers
• Meanwhile, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has joined the picket line at Euston station and has criticised Keir Starmer's decision to sack a junior shadow transport minister who joined striking rail workers last month

Image source, Julia Herdman

A loans company in Wolverhampton has had to shut for a day after today’s rail strike meant staff could not reach the office.

Street UK, an alternative credit provider, will be closed Thursday, says chief executive Julia Herdman. It’s the second time railway strikes led to the closure of one of its branches.

"We don't have a lot of staff, so sometimes we have to make these difficult decisions," she tells BBC Radio WM.

"It could potentially mean that someone who is in need of our help can't get our help."

West Midlands Trains is running a reduced timetable on Thursday and Saturday, while services are expected to be "significantly disrupted" on Friday.

With many workers likely to remain at home today because of the nationwide rail strikes, internet providers are expecting a boost in usage.

Tony Hughes of broadband provider 4th Utility says his firm expects internet traffic to increase by up to 15 percent today - "a really significant uplift".

"We'll see millions more people abandoning their commutes and working from studies, kitchens and spare bedrooms," he said, adding that Covid had ensured companies were prepared for the increased demand.

The people of Plymouth have been giving their opinions on the strikes.

Image source, PA Media

More now from RMT leader Mick Lynch.

He told Sky News that action by his union will continue "until we reach a settlement" with Network Rail and other operators.

He's also warned that the UK could be brought by a standstill by a wave of strikes hitting "every sector of the economy".

He stopped short of predicting a general strike, saying that it was down to Trades Union Congress to make that decision.

But he added: "What you are going to get is a wave of solidarity action, generalised strike action, synchronised action.

"And you'll see it in every sector of the economy, in education, in health, wider parts of the transport system, in all sectors, the private sector as well.

"People are fed up with the way they've been treated. The British worker is basically underpaid and gets no dignity or respect in the workplace."

Image source, Getty Images

The opposition has said the rail strike impasse can be best resolved by the two sides coming together to reach a fair outcome for all.

Speaking to TalkTV this week, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the way to support striking workers "doesn’t involve going on picket lines".

Instead, she said Labour should work to "bring the parties together to get an outcome that is fair to those people who work in the rail sector and elsewhere".

Keir Starmer, who has attracted criticism from some corners of his party for his stance on the issue, told ITV "you can’t be in government around the cabinet table and then go to a picket line".

Last month Starmer removed from his front bench a junior shadow transport minister, Sam Tarry, who joined striking rail workers on a picket line.

At the time, the opposition leader said he wanted to turn Labour "from a party of protest into a party that can win power – then hand that power to working people".

In 2020, almost 40 percent of rail journeys in England were for commuting, and more than a quarter were for leisure. Although the numbers that year were skewed by Covid, just 4 percent of train trips were for business. A year earlier - pre-pandemic - almost half of rail journeys were for commuting.

Katy Austin
Transport correspondent

I'm at Norwich station today.

There are some trains departing but this is a dispute affecting the whole country and - like a lot of other places - the trains started later than normal.

We spoke to some people who turned up here and forgot the strike was happening.

The reason it's so disruptive on a national scale is that the RMT workers on strike include some from Network Rail who control the signals.

That means even if the train company in your area isn't involved in the dispute you just can’t run the number of trains you would do normally if you haven’t got signalling staff.

This dispute feels fairly intractable at the moment.

We've had more reaction from Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines.

He says his company has put forward a deal amounting to an 8% pay rise over two years, but that it hasn't been put to staff.

He also defended his large salary in comparison to striking workers.

"People are not going on strike over what I'm earning," he said.

"They believe they want a decent pay rise, they want protection, they want job security, and we've offered that."