20.05.15
ScotRail to ‘cancel majority of services’ if rail strike goes ahead
ScotRail has warned that the majority of its services will be unable to operate next Monday and Tuesday if proposed strike action by rail unions goes ahead.
Members of RMT and the TSSA, who work for Network Rail, are set to stage a 24-hour walkout starting at 5pm on Monday 25 May.
Those who will take part in the action include signallers, maintenance staff and station workers. The strike is expected to cause widespread misery for commuters returning to work in the Tuesday morning peak.
While final details of amended timetables will not be confirmed until later this week, ScotRail has released early details of the services it anticipates it will be able to run in Scotland on 25 May and 26 May, in order to give passengers as much time as possible to make alternative arrangements.
Monday 25 May only:
- Glasgow Central – Paisley Gilmour Street
- Glasgow Central – Neilston via Queens Park
- Glasgow Central – Newton via Maxwell Park
Monday 25 & Tuesday 26 May:
- Edinburgh – Glasgow via Falkirk High
- Edinburgh – Kirkcaldy – Glenrothes
- Edinburgh - Cowdenbeath – Glenrothes
- Glasgow Central – East Kilbride
- Glasgow Queen St (High Level) – Anniesland
- Glasgow Queen St (Low Level) – Cumbernauld
The above services are likely to run on a reduced basis and will operate largely between 07.15 and 17.45 hrs on the days listed. All other services will be cancelled all day Monday and Tuesday.
Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail / Network Rail Alliance, said: “If this UK-wide industrial action goes ahead as planned, the impact on customers is going to be severe. For the vast majority of people in Scotland, there will be no train service at all on these two days.
“We will only be able to run a handful of services, and those that we are able to run will operate on a reduced service. Those services will be much busier than usual, so if customers are able to make other arrangements, I would kindly ask them to please do so.
“We have released this information early because it is our priority to make sure that our customers have enough time to make decisions about their journey.
He added: “I know that many people right across the country are going to be seriously inconvenienced by this UK-wide industrial action. I am genuinely sorry that, under these circumstances, we cannot run our normal levels of train services that our customers expect. I hope that by releasing the information early, we are giving customers and employers enough time to plan ahead and make other plans.”
Network Rail has spent the last two days in last-ditch talks with union bosses at Acas, in an attempt to avert the strike.
At the end of yesterday’s talks an Acas spokesperson said: "Following a second day of Acas-facilitated talks to try and resolve the current dispute, the parties adjourned late afternoon and will meet again on Wednesday morning to continue discussions."
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