By Angie Brown Edinburgh and East reporter, BBC Scotland news website

Waverley Station has been hit by a 48-hour rail strike

The action by signal workers, which began at 1200 GMT on Wednesday, forced the cancellation of many rail services to and from Edinburgh.

The disruption meant passengers seeking alternative modes of transport used more buses and taxis to get around.

Police and council officials reported no disruption to events or traffic.

Trains between Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street were running every 30 minutes instead of every 15 minutes from 1100 GMT on Wednesday.

The last departure from Waverley was scheduled for 1745 GMT, with the last train from Glasgow at 1800 GMT.

I wish there had been signs at Edinburgh Airport warning us of this and then we wouldn't have got a taxi to the train station Patrick McLeod Passenger

Reduced services were also operating between Edinburgh and Fife, Bathgate, North Berwick and Stirling.

The service between Edinburgh and Inverness has been cancelled.

Patrick McLeod, 32, an emergency medical technician on holiday from Virginia in North America, said: "We have been travelling for 19 hours from Virginia and have arrived at Waverley Station to be told we have to now get a bus to Inverness because of the strike.

"I wish there had been signs at Edinburgh Airport warning us of this and then we wouldn't have got a taxi to the train station. We are so tired, it is a real inconvenience. Its really bad luck."

A Stagecoach East Scotland spokeswoman said: "We are confident the extra buses will be able to cope with the demand. We have no idea how many extra passengers to expect."