Business chiefs’ fury at railway shambles
Train dispute could put off golf fans and festival-goers
SCOTLAND will become an ‘international embarrassment’ as visitors from around the world are met with huge numbers of train cancellations, business leaders have warned.
Tourism operators say the cuts to evening train services as a result of driver shortages will impact events such as The Open and the Edinburgh festivals and may put people off visiting the country this summer.
ScotRail has repeatedly warned people going to events finishing after 9pm that they may not be able to get trains home.
This weekend’s TRNSMT festival was the latest to be impacted by the lack of evening trains.
Stephen Montgomery, of the Scottish Hospitality Group, said the country was in danger of looking like a provincial ‘backwater’ if visitors to the 150th Open Championship in St Andrews, and next month’s Edinburgh festivals were hampered by the rail problems.
He added: ‘The likelihood is that Scotland will be an international embarrassment if we are trying to encourage tourism into Scotland for all these big events and we can’t provide the rail infrastructure to deal with that.
‘We are going to look like a backwater. We will look pretty secondary and unprofessional.’
Golf fans heading to The Open have been urged to travel by road or alternative public transport.
There are reduced numbers of rail services running to and from Leuchars – the nearest station to St Andrews – as a result of an ongoing dispute with ScotRail and train drivers’ union Aslef.
At the end of May, around 700 train services a day were axed after some drivers stopped working voluntary overtime.
Alan Mitchell, chief executive of Fife Chamber of Commerce, said: ‘It is far from ideal with it being more difficult to get to and from The Open and that may impact on the number of people who attend.
‘It may change perceptions that people have about whether they want to come to Scotland.’
Gordon Martin, RMT regional organiser for Scotland, said: ‘Our members are struggling in a big way. Nobody withdraws their labour lightly. What I would say to the travelling public, who have been behind us and supported us, is hopefully this is short-term pain for long-term gain.’
Dutch firm Abellio was stripped of its ScotRail contract in December 2019. Scottish Tory transport spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘After the SNP’s disastrous first few months at the helm, it seems unlikely that they will be able to deliver for Scottish passengers.’
Phil Campbell, ScotRail head of customer operations, confirmed the temporary timetable would still be in place during The Open.
He said: ‘We’re doing everything we can to play our part and support travel to the historic event, but regrettably, our temporary timetable will still be in place throughout The Open.’
Transport Scotland said: ‘We have worked hard with ScotRail to offer workers a fair and affordable deal, which Aslef has recommended for acceptance. In the event of a positive outcome from the pay dispute ballot, ScotRail will make every effort to resume a normal timetable as quickly as possible.’
Tiger’s sunny delight – Page 65
‘Going to look like a backwater’