AS talks continue today at ACAS in a bid to avert next week's rail strikes, Network Rail has said it believes that a settlement is possible. At the moment two separate strikes are set to start on Tuesday, and if they do it's expected that only 20 per cent of trains will run.

NR operations director Robin Gisby is one of those at the heart of the negotiations with the RMT and TSSA. He said: “We believe there is a settlement to be had.  We can't bank on the union to call off the strike, despite ongoing talks, and so we are now concluding our contingency plans with full details available later this week.”

It's hoped that train operators will be in a position to publish emergency timetables on Thursday. The number of trains which can be run will vary greatly, with some lines controlled by major signalling centres offering a near-normal daytime service.

However Network Rail is warning that those routes which have a large number of local signal boxes are likely to have few trains at best, because of the difficulty in providing relief cover at numerous locations.

East Midlands Trains has already said that it expects to run a normal daytime service on the Midland Main Line between London and Sheffield, but that its local and regional services will probably be disrupted.

Signallers are set to stage two four-hour walkouts each day next week, timed to affect the morning and evening peaks. The first strikes, on Tuesday, could coincide with an announcement of the date of the General Election, but so far the transport secretary Andrew Adonis has resisted calls for him to intervene.

Network Rail has also revealed that it is examining the possibilities of taking legal action against the unions.