A Tory MSP has refused to answer SEVEN times about what his party would do to resolve the dispute between ScotRail and the Aslef union which will see about 700 services cut.
Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland and the Tories transport spokesperson, hit out at the SNP government for not engaging with the drivers over the dispute.
However, when asked what he would do to fix the problem he refused to say what his stance or what the Tories wanted to see change.
It came after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon apologised to passengers ahead of the introduction of a temporary timetable.
The row centres around pay, however since the start of May ScotRail drivers have opted not to work overtime which has led to hundreds of trains being cancelled.
Aslef, the train drivers union, balloted its members for industrial action after refusing a 2.2% pay offer.
Services on the mainline between Glasgow and Edinburgh will be reduced to just 30 each way on weekdays - down from 45.
It comes just weeks after the ScotRail franchise was brought back under government control.
During an interview on the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme, Simpson was asked what he would do to fix the problem however he refused to offer a solution.
Here is the exchange between host Martin Geissler (MG) and Simpson (GS) in full:
Martin Geissler asks: "If you were in power, what would you be doing? Offering more money to the train drivers?"
Simpson replies: "Well, what what has to happen immediately is they need to get around the table. The Scottish Government needs to get around the table with the unions and sort this out.
"And so far Jenny Gilruth hasn't been doing that. So the unions are exasperated by this. It's worth pointing out there isn't actually a dispute at the moment. All that's happening is the drivers aren't working on their days off. We run a rail service across seven days, completely reliant on people working on their days off."
MG : "Well, there is a pay dispute as well. That's been going on for years."
GS : "There is a dispute but we're not at the stage of industrial action. The drivers are just saying we just don't fancy coming in on our days off. Now in order to resolve this the Scottish Government needs to get around the table with the unions and start talking. And that's not even happening."
MG : "You make that sound incredibly easy like they just all sit down at a table and they shake hands 10 minutes later and it will be sorted out. It's not as straightforward as that. There are talks at the moment.
"The Scottish Government aren't in the room at the moment, but what would you be doing to resolve this dispute because it does seem fairly intractable."
GS : "You just said it. They're not even in the room. Get in the room, sit down. That isn't difficult, Martin."
MG : "What I'm asking you is what would your solution be to two sides who can't find a middle ground at the moment?"
GS : "The solution in the short term is to start those discussions, and once you start those discussions we can start to get to a position where we'll consort."
MG : "It's often said that opposition politics is the easiest job in the world unless you do the really difficult bit which is come up with an idea of your own.
"I'm trying to discern from you this morning. What is your idea? What would you be taking into that room to try and find a middle ground in this?"
GS : "The reason we're in this position right now is because the Scottish Government isn't even talking to the unions. It's not difficult to grasp this."
MG : "Would you give the train drivers more money?"
GS : "What needs to happen is they need to have discussions."
MG : "Yes, we've established that you think they should talk. Would you be in favour of the train drivers getting more money than they're being offered at the moment?"
GS : "I am not saying how much train drivers should be paid. What I am saying is the Scottish Government needs to start talking to the unions. They're not even doing that."
MG : "Do train drivers have a point here?"
GS : "The train drivers have a point in that the government needs to start talking to them. They're not doing that."
MG : "Do the train drivers have a point that they want more than the 2% they're being offered?"
GS : "The train drivers need to be talked to and that's not even happening. Then we need to get more drivers trained. This will solve it in the long term. We've currently got a shortage of drivers."
Geissler then said: "As far as I can gather from you. The Scottish Conservatives position is just that the Scottish Government should get involved. You don't know what they should do when they get involved, and you don't know whether or not the train drivers are right in wanting more money.
"The unions don't want the Scottish Government to get involved. So I'm not sure that what we're getting from you this morning is a way out of this crisis."
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