Two more days of strike action affecting Scotrail services
Network Rail staff are starting another 48-hour strike
Network Rail staff have begun the second 48-hour strike of 2023 meaning a return to a severely reduced service on Scotrail.
Services will be running on only twelve routes across the central belt of Scotland, and for reduced hours, on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th January.
It’s the latest walk-out in the long-running pay and conditions dispute involving RMT members who work the signalling system, and other safety-critical roles, and the company which controls the tracks.
What trains are running today?
Services will run between 07.30 and 18.30 only on the following routes:
- Edinburgh – Glasgow via Falkirk High: two trains per hour
- Glasgow - Edinburgh via Airdrie & Bathgate: two trains per hour
- Glasgow – Hamilton/Larkhall: two trains per hour
- Glasgow – Lanark: two trains per hour
- Edinburgh – Glasgow via Shotts: one train per hour
- Edinburgh – Cowdenbeath: two trains per hour
- Edinburgh - North Berwick: one train per hour
- Edinburgh – Tweedbank: two trains per hour
- Edinburgh - Larbert: one train per hour
- Glasgow Queen St – Larbert: one train per hour
- Glasgow Queen St – Falkirk Grahamston: one train per hour
- Dunbartonshire: two trains per hour
West coast line reopened
In better news for passengers, engineers have completed "significant repairs" to the main line connecting Glasgow with Carlisle and London.
Engineering staff were sent in after heavy rain and flooding damaged an embankment beneath the railway line south of Carstairs in South Lanarkshire.
Network Rail said that following the extreme weather on December 30, "extensive work" was needed to stabilise and repair the foundations of the track so the railway could operate safely.
Liam Sumpter, Network Rail Scotland route director, confirmed on Thursday that the work had been completed, saying: "Our engineers have worked as quickly as possible to complete these repairs and reopen the railway.
"This was a very challenging project, with hundreds of tonnes of material having to be removed and significant repairs made to over 40 metres of the railway."
He added: "We appreciate the inconvenience the closure of the line has caused and we thank everyone for their understanding during these recovery works."
Avoid travelling plea
Barry Milsom, executive director of operations and safety at Avanti West Coast, said: "We're pleased the West Coast Mainline has now reopened north of Carlisle following repairs to the tracks and would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding while Network Rail carried out this urgent work.
"While our services to and from Glasgow can resume on Friday January 6, a significantly reduced timetable will be in place on this day, as well as Saturday January 7 due to strike action."
As a result, he said customers were being "strongly encouraged" to travel on Sunday January 8, Monday January 9 or Tuesday January 10 when a full-time table will be running again.
Scotrail facts and stats
ScotRail Far North Line in winter
ScotRail operates 3,120.5 kilometres (1,939 miles) of route, from a dense surburban network around Glasgow to some of the most remote stretches of line in the UK including the Far North Line from Inverness to Wick & Thurso
Glasgow Queen Street
Glasgow Queen Street station is the 3rd busiest in Scotland and underwent a £120m rebuilding project between 2017-2021 including a dramatic new glass-fronted entrance from George Square.
ScotRail passengers
46.7m passengers used Scotrail services in 2020-21 according to the Office of Rail Regulation. That's down from a pre-pandemic high of 97.8m in 2018-19.
ScotRail nationalised
Scotrail has been run by public sector body, owned by the Scottish Government, since April 2022. First Minister unveiled a plaque on one of the class 385 electric units which operate the Glasgow - Edinburgh service. Between 2017-22 Scotrail was operated by the Dutch firm Abellio, and before than the privatised franchise was in the hands of First Group and National Express.
ScotRail HST
Scotrail's flagship Inter7City long-distance services are operated by a fleet of refurbished High Speed Trains. These are the oldest rolling stock on the Scottish network having been first introduced in 1976. They are popular with passengers for their spacious and quiet carriages, but questions were raised about their safety and future following the official report into the fatal crash Carmont near Stonehaven in August 2020.
Glasgow Central
Glasgow Central is Scotland's busiest station, by some margin, with an 5,325,090 people counted coming in and out in 2020-21 according to the Office of Rail Regulation. That's more than 2 million more than Edinburgh Waverley station.