Rail strikes LIVE: Updates as walkout decimates Black Country's train service
Train services in the Black Country and Staffordshire have been decimated as the first day of the biggest rail strike in 30 years gets under way.
Tens of thousands of workers have walked out in a row over pay and potential job cuts as the industry is told to make savings against a backdrop of surging inflation and a cost of living crisis.
Workers from 13 train operators - including Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Railway - and Network Rail are taking part in the industrial action today, Thursday and Saturday.
It means just a fraction of the usual weekday service will be available for passengers today.
West Midlands Railway is running an hourly service between Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street, while there is no service to Walsall or Shrewsbury.
Avanti West Coast is operating eight trains each way between Birmingham and London, with two of those being extended to Wolverhampton.
Follow the updates from the first day of the strike.
