In Pictures: Pickets and fewer passengers as second rail strike hits services

Edinburgh Waverley, London Euston, London Paddington and Liverpool Lime Street were among the stations seeing fewer passengers than a typical weekday.

The picket line outside Edinburgh Waverley station, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions

Thousands of railway workers are staging their second strike of the week, impacting services across the country.

Edinburgh Waverley, London Euston, London Paddington and Liverpool Lime Street were among the stations seeing fewer passengers than a typical weekday.

Around 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators walked out again on Thursday after talks failed to resolve a bitter row over pay, jobs and conditions.

A man passes departure boards at Victoria station in London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Members of the RMT picket at the entrance to Waverley Station in Edinburgh — Members of the RMT picket at the entrance to Waverley station in Edinburgh (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Passengers at Newcastle station, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions — Passengers at a quiet Newcastle station (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Ticket barriers at Waverley Station in Edinburgh, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions — Ticket barriers at Waverley station in Edinburgh (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Passengers in Paddington Station in London, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union along with London Underground workers in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions — A flurry of passengers at Paddington station in London (Ashlee Ruggels/PA)

Just one in five trains are running, and they are mostly restricted to main lines, with around half of the network closed.

Services started later than normal at 7.30am and will shut down early at 6.30pm.

Passengers wait at Victoria station in London, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union along with London Underground workers in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions — A few passengers wait at Victoria station in London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

A station worker assists a passenger at Paddington Station in London, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union along with London Underground workers in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions — A station worker assists a passenger at Paddington station (Ashlee Ruggels/PA)

General view of empty platforms at Victoria station in London — Empty platforms at Victoria station (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Rail and Tube strikes — Members of the RMT union on a picket line outside Victoria station in London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

A passenger walks along a platform at Waverley Station in Edinburgh — A passenger walks along a platform at Waverley station in Edinburgh (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Passengers queue for a bus in Wimbledon, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions — Passengers queue for a bus in Wimbledon amid the rail strike disruption (Steven Paston/PA)

The Government has announced plans to change the law to enable businesses to supply skilled agency workers to plug staffing gaps during industrial action.

Network Rail welcomed the move but Labour and unions condemned it as a “recipe for disaster”.

Passengers at Waterloo station, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the union in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions — Passengers during a busier period at Waterloo station (James Manning/PA)

Passengers at Stratford station, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions — A sign warns passengers at Stratford station of the strike action (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Rail, Maritime and Transport union members outside Newcastle station, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the union in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions — RMT members outside Newcastle station (Owen Humphreys/PA)