Rail passengers have been urged to plan their journeys in advance ahead of a second round of strike action by workers on Thursday.

The RMT union is continuing with the industrial action it began on Tuesday in a dispute with ScotRail over driver-only trains.

RMT says it has not received assurances from the rail operator that the extension of driver-only (DOO) and driver-controlled (DCO) services will not adversely impact train conductors and public safety.

ScotRail says it will still be able to run around 70% of its services as normal but has claimed the strikes are "totally needless" and based on misinformation.

Transport minister Humza Yousaf, who has chaired the Scottish Government's resilience committee for a third time to discuss contingency plans for a second walkout, said he was "disappointed" industrial action was continuing.

He said: "I'm very disappointed that we're planning for a second round of industrial action when further dialogue between ScotRail and the RMT union is still an option.

"It is the travelling public that loses out in situations like this so I once again urge both parties to reopen meaningful discussions to work towards an agreement that stops further strikes from going ahead.

"I commend travellers for their efforts during the first strike earlier this week and urge them to prepare for more disruption on the railways on Thursday."

The transport minister said commuters should consider alternative methods of travel such as buses and car sharing, and also suggested working from home and avoiding peak travel times.

"Roads will inevitably be busier on Thursday as a result of the strike and the network will be actively monitored from the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre," he said.

RMT says it has not received guarantees from ScotRail that the safety role of conductors and their role in operating train doors would not be reduced or abolished.

General secretary Mick Cash said: "The workforce know that any extension of DOO or DCO is a clear attack on our members' hard-earned terms and conditions.

"RMT members should not have to face the risk of their role and responsibilities being reduced and undermined.

"The workforce also know only too well that there is a very real threat to passengers of watering down and wiping out the safety critical role of the guard on these ScotRail services.

"That is a lethal gamble with basic rail safety."

Guards at the RMT backed walkouts by a ratio of 3:1, prompting the union to announce seven days of strikes during June and July.

Last weekend, the union also claimed ScotRail was "sabotaging" the planned peace talks, which ultimately broke down on Monday.

The first day-long strike took place on Tuesday.

ScotRail says RMT is being "disingenuous" in its claims and claims the strike is "totally unnecessary".

Speaking on Tuesday, ScotRail managing director Phil Verster said: "The RMT have refused point blank to talk to us about how we modernise and improve Scotland's railway.

"The public will be astonished to hear that this is a strike only about who opens and closes doors on trains, nothing more.

"The RMT are being, at best, disingenuous when they tell people that we are trying to have driver-only trains."

In an email sent out to customers on Wednesday, ScotRail said: "We think this strike is totally unnecessary.

"The RMT say we are planning on having driver-only trains. We are not. We will always schedule a second person on trains to serve our customers.

"They say it is about safety. It is not. Today, 59% of our customers travel on a train where the doors are safely opened and closed by the driver."

ScotRail added: "With all this in mind - we just don't know why we are having a strike at all."

Alternative timetables and further information on affected routes are available on the ScotRail website.

A Multi-Agency Response Team (MART) will be in operation on Thursday, including Network Rail, ScotRail, Traffic Scotland and Police Scotland.

It will monitor the situation throughout the day to help ensure the public has up to date information and so agencies can to respond to any major incidents.