Gilmour Street train station resembled a ghost town yesterday as the first day of crippling strike action by Network Rail workers took place.
No trains passed through the usually busy station, with no services running in Renfrewshire.
Indeed, just five routes ran throughout West Central Scotland after RMT members downed tools in the first of three days of strike action scheduled for this week.
Would-be commuters were turned away from a normally packed Gilmour Street by rail staff, with Neil Bibby warning the UK government were in danger of standing by as the country was "dragged back to the 1980s".
That led to the Paisley-based MSP calling on the government to "get a grip" of the crisis.
The Scottish Government's Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth - who herself presided over a recent row with train drivers' union ASLEF - has waded into the dispute, writing to the UK Government urging them to "do more to resolve" the issue.
In the letter to Grant Shapps, Ms Gilruth called for the UK Government to do more to resolve the dispute which will significantly affect operations in Scotland, despite the Scottish Government having no say in the negotiations.
She claimed the Holyrood administration has "consistently rejected the rail reform programme which interferes with and erodes Scotland’s devolved competencies within the rail network".
In an open letter to Westminster transport supremo Mr Shapps, she said she was: "Seeking an urgent undertaking from you, to that end, that as UK Transport Secretary you will do all that you can to seek a resolution to this dispute, as quickly as possible, for the benefit of staff and passengers alike."
Operator ScotRail had earlier warned commuters not to travel unless absolutely necessary on days of strike action.
Service delivery director David Simpson told Renfrewshire Live: "Regrettably, the disruption caused by the RMT Network Rail strike action extends to the days following strike action as well.
"This is due to Network Rail signal boxes across Scotland’s Railway opening at different times throughout the day and means, for some routes, it may be later in the day before we’re able to operate services as normal."
He added: "I’d encourage anyone planning to travel on the railway on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, to check their journey in advance to see if their train is running, and on days of strike action to only travel if they really need to on the five routes where services are operating."
Crucial signal workers have walked off the job as union the RMT remains in a deadlock over pay and redundancies.
Leader Mick Lynch has been involved in bitter disputes with Network Rail bosses and Department of Transport operating companies over the outcome.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Schapps has ignored pleas to get involved, saying: "It is for the employers, that's Network Rail and the railway companies, they're the employers, they're the ones who need to come to a settlement with the unions.
"In any pay discussion, in any negotiation over terms, over - in this case - modernisation, it's always the employer and the union who need to get together to speak. I can't undermine that, these are complex discussions over about 20 different areas of modernisation.
"I can't undermine that by suddenly walking into the room suggesting something completely different."
Only five routes will operate in west central Scotland during days of strike action.
Trains will run between Edinburgh and Glasgow via Falkirk High twice hourly, as well as between the capital and Bathgate.
Two services per hour will also link Glasgow with Hamilton and Lanark, while a single hourly train will serve the capital from Glasgow via Shotts.
Services running are only expected to be operational between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
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