Thousands of people planning to travel by train on Boxing Day are being forced to make alternative plans as a rail strike means no services will run.

Hundreds of departures usually run on December 26 after the Christmas Day shutdown.

But Network Rail said Britain’s railways will remain closed for a second consecutive day due to a walkout by employees who are members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT).

Passengers were warned about the impact of the strike a week ago.

Airport transfers such as the Heathrow Express and Stansted Express are usually among the most popular services on Boxing Day.

Airline passengers will be forced to find other ways of getting to and from Britain’s airports.

A number of other planned services cannot take place due to the RMT strike.

Merseyrail was due to run a half-hourly service across its network in Merseyside.

ScotRail has historically operated a Boxing Day service in the Strathclyde area.

The operator also ran its first Boxing Day trains between Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk High in 2021.

Northern operated a service between Liverpool Lime Street and St Helens Central on Boxing Day last year.

Southern also served several routes on that day, connecting London Bridge with locations such as Brighton, Crystal Palace and East Croydon.

The lack of trains means more people will travel by road on Monday.

Coach operators National Express and Megabus have experienced strong demand.

The AA expects 15.2 million cars on UK roads on Boxing Day.

A spokesman said: “Traffic is likely to build around shopping centres as lots of people seek a bargain in the sales, meanwhile football fans will travel to see their teams.

“There is scope for localised traffic congestion and more short trips, but traffic should be dispersed throughout the day as people take their time after Christmas Day.”

The RAC highlighted two stretches of the M25 as likely hotspots for queues.

They are from junction 7 to 16 clockwise, and from junction 4 to 1 anti-clockwise.