Tens of thousands of passengers on some of the country's busiest rail routes were spared a fresh bout of travel chaos today, when two planned strikes by train drivers were called off.

Hundreds of drivers at South West Trains (SWT), which operates out of London's Waterloo station, were due to stage two 24-hour stoppages tomorrow and on Monday in a bitter row over safety.

The rail operator and the drivers' union, Aslef, yesterday discussed a plan aimed at resolving the row and union leaders decided today to suspend the industrial action.

An Aslef spokesman said: "We have resolved our differences and we look forward to better industrial relations in the future."

SWT, said: "We are delighted that we will be able to offer passengers a normal service."

Services across southern England and into London's Waterloo station would have been crippled if the walkouts had gone ahead. The company normally operates 1,700 services every weekday, and carries 400,000 passengers, including 350,000 into and out of Waterloo.

Last Tuesday, a previous 24-hour walkout by 900 drivers caused major disruption for commuters returning to work after the August bank holiday weekend.

Yesterday passengers had been warned to make alternative travel arrangements during the planned industrial actions, while emergency timetables had been drawn up and distributed.

The dispute started over the use of taxis for a group of Waterloo-based drivers but escalated when SWT used managers to drive trains during an earlier strike, prompting safety concerns at the union.