Paris  - Long-suffering French commuters were in for another day of delays and traffic jams as railway and public transport workers began a 36-hour strike on Wednesday evening.

The French national railway network SNCF said that two of three scheduled high-speed TGV trains would be running during the job action, but only one of two scheduled regional trains would be operating.

In addition, public transportation was expected to be disrupted in some 55 cities, including Lyon and Marseille, but metros, buses and trams in Paris would run close to normal schedules.

Air traffic was also expected to experience some delays, after unions representing employees for Air France asked their members to walk of their jobs.

The strike was called to protest the government's plans to increase the period of pension contributions of employees expecting to be paid full pensions from 40 to 41 years.

According to a survey carried out by the IFOP institute for the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche, nearly six of 10 French adults consider the strike unjustified. (dpa)