Passenger numbers on rail services have held up well despite the current rash of strikes as travellers change their plans to take the train on days when services are operating.

But disruption continues for those who have to travel for work - or want to make weekend leisure journeys.

Before the strikes began in the summer, the number of passengers using trains across Britain was at just over 80% of what it had been before the first Covid lockdown in March 2020.

That figure remains at almost 80% as leisure passengers change their plans to ensure they travel on days when trains are running.

Trains on these days are now noticeably fuller than they had been for the last two and a half years according to many rail workers. That is particularly true on Greater Anglia's commuter services to London.

Many commuters now only travel to their offices on two or three days a week and otherwise work at home - and they have been able to adjust their office days to avoid those when there are strikes.

One area that has been hit as unions target weekends is leisure travel to specific events - especially sports matches which have been affected by line closures on Saturdays.

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies and Network Rail, said the strike had been damaging - but had not driven away too many travellers.

He said: “Overall, passenger journeys and revenue remain at around 80% of pre-pandemic levels. The strikes stopped the industry’s recovery from the seismic impact of the pandemic in its tracks. Network Rail estimates that the strikes since June have cost the rail industry around £190m.

“A unique feature of this dispute has been that the unions – particularly the RMT – are targeting weekends, causing maximum damage when leisure journeys have otherwise seen the fastest recovery in passenger numbers since the pandemic.

“It is possible – partly because of the changed working practices in response to the pandemic – that some commuters are adjusting their working weeks in response to the strikes.

“Additionally, many commuters – including key workers such as NHS staff and people on day rates – are unable to work from home, and many are losing significant sums as a result.”

A fresh round of talks between the government, rail companies and the unions are planned for later this week - with indications that these could be more productive following the departure of Grant Shapps as Transport Secretary.