ScotRail urges customers to plan ahead during strike action over Christmas and New Year
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ScotRail is urging customers to plan their journey in advance over the Christmas period with services severely impacted by the latest round of strike action by RMT members of Network Rail.
The dispute does not involve ScotRail staff, however, it will have a major impact on the train operator’s ability to provide services as the RMT planned action involves Network Rail staff in Scotland.
The RMT union announced its members at Network Rail will take strike action from 6pm on Saturday, December 24 until 6am on Tuesday, December 27 across the UK railway network resulting from a pay dispute with the track and infrastructure operator.
This will result in the following impact on ScotRail services:
- Christmas Eve (Saturday, December 24) – services will run as normal until around 3pm when they will begin to wind down to allow for critical engineering works. No train services will start after 6pm but some trains will still be in transit.
- Christmas Day (Sunday, December 25) – ScotRail does not operate services on Christmas Day.
- Boxing Day (Monday, December 26) – no services will operate due to use of contingent Network Rail staff and the prioritisation of critical engineering works.
- Tuesday, December 27 – a later start-up of services. Most services on that day will start around 8am, but in some parts of the country there will be no trains running until 5pm. This is due to the shift start times of Network Rail signallers.
New Year’s Eve (Saturday, December 31) – services will stop earlier than normal for usual Hogmanay close-down
Services are due to operate as per the normal timetable between Wednesday, December 28 and Friday, December 30.
The routes, frequency of service, and times of the last trains on Christmas Eve are available here: www.scotrail.co.uk/christmas
Further information on the last services on New Year’s Eve (Saturday, December 31) will be communicated as soon as possible. The train operator is currently updating its retail systems to reflect the impact of strike action.
Customers are advised to check the ScotRail app or visit scotrail.co.uk for the latest information before travelling. The RMT has also announced plans for strike action on January 3-4 and 6-7.
David Simpson, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “It’s really disappointing to see more disruption across the whole Great Britain rail network as a result of the dispute between Network Rail and the RMT at a time when we need to be encouraging more people back to the railway.
“For ScotRail, this is going to mean significant disruption with last trains stopping earlier than usual on Christmas Eve, no services on Boxing Day, and later first trains on Tuesday, December 27.
“We know this is really frustrating for everyone impacted and we’re urging customers to plan ahead and check their entire journey in advance.”
