Passengers facing major disruption on the railways
Signallers take strike action
Published:
THOUSANDS of passengers across the north and north-east face major disruption today as the first of two 24-hour rail strikes planned for this week gets under way.
The action follows the collapse of last-minute talks between Network Rail and the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) trade union yesterday over proposed changes to signallers’ working conditions.
The strike, which begins at noon for 24 hours and again on Thursday for the same period, will lead to the cancellation and restriction of services across the north and north-east.
There will be no National Express east coast line services to Aberdeen, Inverness or Glasgow Central during the dispute, which will affect services until Friday.
Services from England will terminate in Edinburgh.
First ScotRail said the last service from Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street on both strike days would be at 8.39am.
The last train from Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen will be at 8.41am.
The last service from Edinburgh to Aberdeen is at 9.10am and 8.51am from Aberdeen to Edinburgh.
A replacement hourly bus service will be provided until 5.52pm.
The last First ScotRail service from Aberdeen to Inverness is at 9.27am today and Thursday and from Inverness to Aberdeen at 8.42am.
A bus service will operate every two hours between the two cities.
Normal services on all routes are expected to resume between noon and 4pm on Wednesday and Friday.
Network Rail said the strike, which will involve 450 signallers and supervisors, was bitterly disappointing.
The RMT claimed it was unavoidable because the other side was refusing to negotiate on its decision to “rewrite agreements” without consulting staff.
Unacceptable
The two sides failed to come to an agreement yesterday after eight hours of talks mediated by conciliation body Acas.
The Scottish Government and Liberal Democrats urged them last night to get back round the negotiating table to avoid further disruption.
Network Rail’s route director for Scotland David Simpson said: “We have been unable to shift the union from their position which puts safety at risk by demanding safety assessments be voluntary, not compulsory.”
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said it was unacceptable for Network Rail, which owns and operates tracks, signals, tunnels and stations across the UK, to be given the right to change rosters at short notice without agreement.
In addition to the strike, union members will ban overtime and any rest day working from today.
Network Rail insists it has no intention of changing the established principle that rostered hours are binding.
First ScotRail said it was extremely disappointed with the strike action.
Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott once again accused the Scottish Government of “washing its hands” of the situation by refusing to get directly involved. He said: “We now face four days of chaos on the trains, no thanks to the Scottish Government who have washed their hands of all responsibility. What does it take to get Alex Salmond to lift a finger?”
First Minister Alex Salmond insists the SNP Government’s role is to encourage both sides to come together to settle the dispute without direct interference.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are extremely disappointed that the RMT and Network Rail management have failed to resolve the issue.
“The first minister has been in contact with both sides this afternoon to encourage them to get back round the table and continue talks so as to avoid unnecessary disruption to passengers and services.”
