PAY talks between ScotRail management and train drivers' union, Aslef, will resume tomorrow with both sides saying "progress" has been made.
Both sides met at 8.30am this morning in a bid to break the deadlock that saw more than a third of ScotRail services withdrawn on Sunday.
Aslef is preparing to ballot its members for discontinuous 24-hour strikes or action just short of a strike, which would effectively ban overtime and wipe out Sunday services, unless the dispute is resolved.
Kevin Lindsay, Scottish organiser for Aslef, said "some progress" had been made but negotiations had been adjourned until tomorrow.
A spokeswoman for Abellio ScotRail said: "We are pleased that progress is being made and look forward to more talks on Wednesday."
Train drivers have rejected a 2.5 per cent pay rise and a one-off £500 bonus, amid concerns that new Dutch franchise-holder, Abellio, is planning to cut conductors and move to a seven-day working week.
Part of the pay deal is also understood to include proposals to change drivers' rest time from one half-hour break during shifts of up to nine hours. Managers also tabled suggestions to use new technology to reduce the time it takes to train drivers, which Aslef has rejected on safety grounds.
At present, ScotRail relies on drivers volunteering to work Sundays in exchange for overtime, but the ongoing dispute has led to a "steep decline" in available drivers.
It is understood that some 30 additional train services had to be axed at short notice on Sunday, on top of the third of services scheduled to be withdrawn, after fewer drivers than expected turned out to work.
There are fears the situation could worsen again this Sunday and impact on the Open golf championship in St Andrews, which will run from Sunday July 12 to Sunday July 19.
Meanwhile, ScotRail warned passengers in Glasgow that they face busier trains and altered services next week as a result of the Open.
To transport spectators to the event, ScotRail is running an altered service between July 15-19 to enable more trains call at Leuchars, the closest station to the event.
It coincides with ongoing engineering works at the Winchburgh Tunnel, which has forced Network Rail to close a section of the main Glasgow-Edinburgh line between Linlithgow and Edinburgh Park.
As a result, ScotRail has advised Open spectators to travel to Leuchars via Dundee instead of Edinburgh, which it says will be a quicker and easier option.
The operator is adding additional carriages to the Glasgow Queen Street-Aberdeen service, which stops in Dundee, to accommodate extra passengers heading to the Open.
However, the extended trains will too long for platforms at Portlethen, Carnoustie, Broughty Ferry, and Springfield, so passengers travelling to these stations will be diverted onto replacement buses.
Queuing systems will also be in place at key stations for spectators and extra staff will be on hand to assist customers.
A spokeswoman for ScotRail said: "We want to give our customers a heads up about the alterations and that some trains will be busier with golf fans. Passengers are encouraged to check our website or the ScotRail app to see if their service is affected."
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