What impact will ScotRail disruption and strike talks have on Edinburgh's festivals, as more trains announced

Additional late-night services on Glasgow and North Berwick lines from capital

ScotRail has announced some extra trains for people heading for the Edinburgh festivals, but warned services on Sunday will be “significantly reduced”.

The announcement came on Thursday, hours before pay talks with the unions resumed in an attempt to settle a dispute that has led to ScotRail temporarily cutting one quarter of its daily services.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

All four unions are holding strike ballots while Sunday trains have been halved to around 550 services.

However, ScotRail has significantly reduced the number of additional short-notice cancellations on weekdays caused by shortages of train crew, with just six on Thursday compared to dozens on some days last month.

The ScotRail dispute has cut services by one quarterThe ScotRail dispute has cut services by one quarter
The ScotRail dispute has cut services by one quarter | John Devlin/The Scotsman

Evening trains on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line via Falkirk High, which had been cut to hourly from 7pm because of the dispute, will be restored to half hourly between Mondays and Saturdays from this Saturday.

An additional 12.15am Edinburgh to Glasgow service will also run except on Sunday nights.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Extra carriages will be added to other late-night services on some routes across the Central Belt.

However, trains on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line will continue to operate once every hour on Sundays as part of the reduced temporary timetable introduced by ScotRail last month after some drivers stopped volunteering for overtime.

On weekdays, the temporary timetable has reduced services by about 600 trains a day across the ScotRail network, with frequencies halved on some routes.

An extra late-night train has also been added for the Fringe by the Sea festival in North Berwick, which leaves the East Lothian town for Edinburgh at 12.01am between this Friday and Saturday August 10. The last service on Sundays will be at 10.20pm.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

ScotRail warned of possible extra ticket queues at stations and urged passengers to buy in advance online or via the ScotRail app.

The threat of far more significant disruption remains should Thursday’s talks fail and staff vote to strike. A ballot by the RMT, ScotRail’s biggest union that represents thousands of its staff, is due to close in a week’s time.

If it produces a majority for action, any walkouts could not happen until August 22 at the earliest because the union would have to give ScotRail two weeks’ notice.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The results of votes by train drivers’ union Aslef, Unite, which includes engineers, and the TSSA, which represents office staff, are due later this month.

Aslef Scottish organiser Kevin Lindsay told The Scotsman that Thursday’s talks had been “constructive”, with discussions due to resume in a week’s time. ScotRail also described its separate talks with Aslef and the three other unions as "constructive".

Meantime, ScotRail has advised football fans heading home from the Celtic versus Kilmarnock game at Celtic Park in Glasgow on Sunday to check trains before travelling because of the “very limited” service from Dalmarnock and Bellgrove after the tie.

Customer operations director Phil Campbell said: “Customers are reminded that with the temporary timetable in place, there are fewer services than normal in operation. But to support [the Edinburgh Festival], we’ve made changes to our services, including extra seats and services and late-night trains to get people to and from Edinburgh. 

“With trains expected to be busier than usual, we’re encouraging everyone visiting the capital to allow extra time for travel, and check their journey in advance via our online journey planner.”

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.

Dare to be Honest
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice