DISRUPTION following industrial action is set to continue throughout the week, ScotRail have warned.

Fife commuters have faced difficulties this morning (Tuesday) as the first day of strikes saw trains cancelled across the Kingdom.

ScotRail have removed Fife Circle services from their timetables, while limited routes are only running in the Central Belt.

READ MORE: 'Only travel if necessary' say ScotRail as all Fife Circle services halted

The rail operator has warned that this will have a knock-on effect on the days following strike action, as delays are expected on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday due to the reopening of Network Rail signal boxes at different times throughout the day.

Signal boxes are key pieces of infrastructure located across the rail network that control train movements, their use is critical to ensure that the railway can operate safely.

While large signalling centres in the Central Belt will be able to operate from 07.15, this will not be the case at signal boxes elsewhere and it may well be later in the day before many routes are able to operate as normal.

ScotRail is urging anyone travelling on Scotland’s Railway to check their journey in advance to see if their train is running.

Trains times for the services which will operate on Wednesday and Friday are available to view on the ScotRail website at Network Rail Industrial Action.

READ MORE: Fife Circle services to halt due to RMT Network Rail strike action

Strikes will also take place on Thursday and Saturday, where no trains will run in Fife.

On these days ScotRail is only operating services on five routes across Scotland between the hours 07.30 and 18.30.

These are:

Edinburgh – Glasgow via Falkirk High: two trains per hour

Edinburgh – Bathgate: two trains per hour

Glasgow – Hamilton/Larkhall: two trains per hour

Glasgow – Lanark: two trains per hour

Edinburgh – Glasgow via Shotts: one train per hour

David Simpson, ScotRail Service Delivery Director, said: "Regrettably, the disruption caused by the RMT Network Rail strike action extends to the days following strike action as well. This is due to Network Rail signal boxes across Scotland’s Railway opening at different times throughout the day.

"This means, for some routes, it may be later in the day before we’re able to operate services as normal.

"I’d encourage anyone planning to travel on the railway on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, to check their journey in advance to see if their train is running, and on days of strike action to only travel if they really need to on the five routes where services are operating."