Virgin Trains cancels bank holiday services ahead of strikes

West Coast mainline operator Virgin Trains has cancelled all services on Monday and Tuesday because of a planned strike by Network Rail workers.

It will also only run a very limited service on the East Coast line if the action goes ahead.

Thousands of signallers, maintenance staff and station workers are due to walk out for 24 hours from 17:00 BST on Monday in a row over pay and jobs.

Passengers are being advised not to travel unless "absolutely necessary".

There are also widespread cancellations expected across many other operators including CrossCountry Trains, Chiltern Railways, Arriva Trains Wales, First Great Western and ScotRail.

Virgin, which runs services on the major routes between London and Scotland, said if the strike goes ahead some tickets may be used on other days.

A Virgin spokesman said customers would need to make alternative arrangements, and those travelling on Sunday 24 May or Wednesday 27 May were advised to check for disruption before travelling.

Network Rail is making a legal challenge against the TSSA, one of the unions involved in the industrial action, which is due to be heard at the High Court on Thursday.

Chief executive Mark Carne also urged train passengers to be prepared for the strike, saying it could not bank on unions calling off the planned stoppage.

The two sides are continuing to hold talks at the conciliation service Acas. Network Rail said its negotiators would be available into the weekend if necessary.

Which services are running?

• Virgin Trains - All West Coast main line services are cancelled on Monday and Tuesday

• Virgin's East Coast services will operate as normal on Monday until the early afternoon except in Scotland. On Tuesday, a limited number of trains are expected to run on the London to Leeds and London to York/Newcastle routes only

• First Great Western said it did not expect to run services from Oxford, Reading, Swindon, Plymouth, Bath Spa or Portsmouth on Monday or Tuesday

• Chiltern Railways said it hoped to run a reduced service on some lines on Monday and Tuesday

• Abellio Greater Anglia is putting on special trains for Norwich City football fans travelling to Wembley on Monday but warned strikes could cause cancellations

• Southeastern trains are expected to be severely impacted and the company warned people to avoid travelling on Monday or Tuesday

• Arriva Trains Wales - There will be no services between Shrewsbury, Birmingham, Crewe, Wrexham and Chester all day on Monday. A small number of services will run between Cardiff and the south Wales valleys on Tuesday

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents Network Rail and train operators, said a strike timetable would be made available once it was clear whether the strike would go ahead.

Full details of amended timetables are expected to be available from train operators by Saturday, with more "overviews and summaries" available from Thursday.

If the strike goes ahead, fans of Middlesbrough and Norwich City football clubs may have trouble travelling to Wembley for the Championship play-off final at 3pm on Monday.