RAIL passengers in Scotland continue to face uncertain travel plans after talks between the RMT union and train firm ScotRail broke down.

ScotRail staff are set to walk out on Saturday and also on Christmas Eve in protest at the dismissal of ticket examiner Scott Lewis, from Glasgow.

The company, which runs 95% of passenger services in Scotland, is working on its contingency plans, which will be announced this week.

A ScotRail spokesman said: "We will get people home this Christmas. Our contingency plans will keep any impact on our customers to a minimum. There is no doubt the majority of our services will run."

CrossCountry trains, which connect Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen to England via the East Coast Main Line, is also set to be hit by a strike on Friday, although fresh talks are scheduled for tomorrow.

The passenger whose complaints led to Mr Lewis being sacked has spoken for the first time about the experience.

Luke Addis, who says he has visited places such as China, Indonesia, Russia and India without serious incident, claimed he found himself "intimidated" and "humiliated" by Mr Lewis.

The incident happened when the ticket examiner refused to accept Mr Addis had a valid Ryanair promotion ticket that allowed him free train travel on a journey to Prestwick Airport, Ayrshire.

Mr Addis, 24, said he had been left feeling "more like a criminal than a customer" by the "aggressive" encounter.

But the university graduate, currently travelling around Indonesia, said he never wanted Mr Lewis to lose his job but maintained he was right to complain after his appalling treatment.

He added he believed it was wrong the RMT union was choosing to impact on passengers at Christmas with a strike.

"This is purely an issue about customer service, it should not have to affect the public."