THOUSANDS of commuters across Scotland are facing rail services chaos on as 15 routes are cut altogether and some services including Glasgow to Edinburgh trains are cut by half as the first of a series of 24 hour strike begins.

Managers are being brought in to act as conductors to keep as many train services running as possible - but some service in the Highlands will not be run at all.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union say plans to "water down or wipe out" the "safety critical" role of the guard on Scotrail services was a "gamble with basic rail safety" posing a "real threat to passengers".

And Scotrail are baffled by a dispute which they said would keep two people on trains, that it was over "who controls the buttons that opens and closes the door" and would result in no redundancies or changes to pay levels or terms and conditions.

Rail operator ScotRail and the RMT met at conciliation service Acas on Monday morning following a war of words in which the union accused the rail operator of "sabotaging" planned peace talks.

Following the 11am meeting, an Acas spokesman confirmed the talks had been "adjourned with no date set to resume".

Scotrail say they remain available for talks over the changes which they say are in place on 59 per cent of services in the Strathclyde area.

Services affected by Tuesday's walkout include the Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh to Dunblane services which will run once an hour instead of twice an hour.

Edinburgh to Dundee and Glasgow Central to Aberdeen services have been cut from a train an hour to one very two hours.

Those services that are operating on reduced frequency will see the last trains brought forward to 7pm, meaning workers will need to make alternative arrangements to find their way home.

No services will run on 15 services across Scotland including the Far North Line which connects Inverness to Wick, Thurso and Kyle of Lochalsh, Aberdeen to Inverness, Glasgow Central to Inverness and Glasgow Queen Street to Arbroath via Dunblane, Alloa, Dundee and Carnoustie. Of those just three will have replacement bus services.

Scotrail managing director Phil Verster said: "We just cannot support a service on the Far North Line at all, because we are applying the priority of putting our available managers that we have trained as conductors on services with the highest footfall and the highest intensity. They will operate the doors."

RMT general secretary Mick Cash accused ScotRail of having "no intention of engaging in serious talks"

"This morning, they set up a series of a serious of ludicrous preconditions that they know cannot be met by the union and, as a consequence, yet again they effectively sabotaged the process.

"The action remains firmly on."

RMT Scotland organiser Mike Hogg said: "The dispute is not about more money - the dispute is about ensuring that Scotland's trains run safely.

"We have had a whole host of instances over the last 18 months where people have been involved in accidents as a result of driver-only trains and what we're saying is enough is enough."

On Monday RMT protested outside ScotRail's offices with supporters holding RMT flags and banners reading "keep the guard on the train".

Mr Hogg added: "If, God forbid, there was a collision or a derailment there would be no-one who is safety trained in order to evacuate the passengers safely. The guard's role is a safety-critical role."

Rail regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said its inspectors were content that driver-only operations are safe.

Mr Verster described the strike as "totally needless" and that it was the RMT who refused to talk about how to modernise and improve Scotland's railways.

He believes RMT were locked into "nothing must every change" mentality driven by a similar dispute over driver only operations with Govia Thameslink Railway. "It's a cynical attempt in getting us sucked into a national campaign," he said.

"It is about who controls the buttons that opens and closes the door and by having a conductor not doing that, we can run trains faster, because we have less time at stations," he said.

"Whether it is a ticket examiner or a conductor there is still a second person on the train with the same level of safety.

"We have been pulled into a debate where there is no real lose situation for our people up here.

"We are guaranteeing there will be no redundancies. We are guaranteeing no-one will lose their jobs. We are guaranteeing pay levels and terms and conditions.

"Our customers are already on trains that are operating safely in this manner for the last 30 years. So what's this action about?"

Ian Prosser, ORR director of railway safety and HM Chief Inspector of Railways, said: "Trains with doors operated by drivers (known in the industry as 'driver only operation') have been in operation in Great Britain for more than 30 years.

"ORR has scrutinised this approach and our inspectors are satisfied that with suitable equipment, proper procedures and competent staff in place, it is a safe method of working."

The Scottish Government urged commuters to consider car-sharing or working from home as an increase in traffic is predicted.

The government discussed contingency plans for the strike at its resilience committee while its chairman urged both parties to resume talks urgently.

A multi-agency response team - involving Network Rail, ScotRail, Traffic Scotland, Police Scotland, and rail operating companies - will be set up to monitor events on Tuesday.

Committee chairman Humza Yousaf said: "It's very disappointing to see industrial action set to go ahead on our railways and we continue to urge further dialogue between ScotRail and the RMT union."