ScotRail services are set to be cut again this week as part of new train staff strikes.
Network Rail workers will stage industrial action on Thursday and Saturday, as part of plans arranged by the RMT Union. While ScotRail is not among the operators directly involved in the walk-out, its services will be drastically impacted as a result.
Most regular services will be cancelled during the strikes. Previous industrial action saw just 189 services go ahead, though this will go up to 378 for the new strikes as trains will reach as far as Fife and the east coast.
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As reported by the Daily Record, there will be two trains an hour that run between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street, Edinburgh and Helensburgh Central, Glasgow Central and Hamilton, Glasgow Central and Lanark, Edinburgh and Inverkeithing, Edinburgh and Tweedbank and Milngavie and Springburn.
Additionally, there will be one train an hour that runs between Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, Edinburgh and North Berwick, Glasgow Queen Street and Larbert, and Glasgow Queen Street and Falkirk Grahamston.
According to the operator, services will start at 7.30am and end "well before" 6.30pm. In response, ScotRail has urged people to travel only if it is essential.
ScotRail service delivery director David Simpson said: "It is very unfortunate to see such widespread disruption across the whole of the Great Britain rail network and we know this will be frustrating for ScotRail customers. Regrettably, this strike action by RMT members of Network Rail means that we will not be able to operate the vast majority of our services during the period of strike action.
“Customers should expect significant disruption to services on strike days, as well as the following day. We are able to operate on more routes than on the previous day of strike action, however, we are still only able to run a very limited number of services on these routes, so we’re advising customers to seek alternative means of transport and to only travel if they really need to.”
Disruption is also likely to be felt the day after the strikes, with signal boxes in the central belt able to be turned on at around 7.15am, but it could take into the afternoon, ScotRail said, to restore services in other areas."
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