Rail passengers are facing disruption again today amid fresh industrial action by train drivers and other workers in long running disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) are striking today as well as this Saturday and on July 29 – while drivers in Aslef are banning overtime this week.

RMT members including station staff, train managers and catering staff will be involved in the action.

Passengers were advised to check their travel arrangements in advance as the level of service will vary across the country.

But according to figures that have provoked fury among Tory MPs, Britain has been crowned the working from home capital of Europe, with UK employees spending an average of 1.5 days a week logged in from the study, the dining table or the patio – compared to an international average of 0.9 days.

In Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, staff are absent from their desks for 1 day of the working week, a third less than in Britain.

The French spend 0.6 days logged on remotely, meaning a Londoner is nearly three times as likely to be toiling from the settee with tea and toast than a Parisian is to be working with a coffee and croissant on the chaise longue.

Only in Canada did employees spend longer working from home than in the UK, at 1.7 days on average, according to the figures compiled by Germany’s Ifo Institute. 

Today’s strike action at 14 train companies will see wide variations of services across the country with trains due to start later and finish much earlier than usual.

In some areas only around half of train services will run, while others will have no services at all.

Evening services on some lines are likely to be affected on the days before each strike and on the mornings following the action.

Speaking this morning on Sky News, RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said that ‘there is a general reaction from working people that they’re fed up with the way they’ve been treated in Britain’. 

A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: ‘The upcoming rail strikes called by the RMT union and the overtime ban by Aslef will undoubtedly cause some disruption, affecting not only the daily commute of our passengers but also disrupting the plans of families during the summer holidays.

‘This will lead to disappointment, frustration, and financial strain for tens of thousands of people. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and understand the impact on individuals and businesses.

‘While we are doing all we can to keep trains running, unfortunately there will be reduced services between Monday July 17 and Saturday July 29, so our advice is to check before you travel.

‘Passengers with Advance tickets can be refunded fee-free if the train that the ticket is booked for is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled.’

RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, the ‘Government won’t allow a settlement to be developed through negotiations’ to avert the latest wave of strikes.

Mr Lynch told Sky News: ‘The strikes are part of a campaign that’s been ongoing for over a year now, they’ll have the effects that our members are out in heavy numbers picketing and taking part in the action from the south-west of England up to Scotland, and it will have the effects that the companies have brought on themselves, really.

‘Because we haven’t got a settlement, the Government won’t allow a settlement to be developed through negotiations so we’re hoping we can get some talks going soon and bring a conclusion to the dispute, but that needs two parties to come to the table in a spirit of goodwill, we’re ready to do that and hopefully they will be too.’

He added: ‘There’s plenty of impact on the railways. I know that many services are cancelled.

‘We don’t revel in that, we don’t want people to be disrupted. We’d much rather get back to work and get an agreement on the issues in the dispute.

‘My members are committed to the dispute – 20,000 of them are out today, they’ve voted in heavy numbers to continue the campaign until we get a settlement and they’re very committed to that.’

On the status of negotiations, he said: ‘Well we haven’t got any, we haven’t had any contact from the companies or from the Government for a couple of months, three or four months now.

‘That’s unfortunate; they seem to be locked in to their position, we think there are solutions available. They want to get some changes in the way that the railway is established – we can discuss those with them but we need an agreement not imposition on top of us.’

Ahead of the strikes, Mr Lynch said the action would show the country ‘just how important railway staff are to the running of the rail industry’.

‘My team of negotiators and I are available 24/7 for talks with the trai