Minister blames trains chaos on drivers caught in pay row
NEWLY nationalised Scotrail has been branded a “complete shambles” as more than 400 services were cancelled in the just three days.
Scotrail blamed a “significant number of drivers” for the crisis, saying they had declined to make themselves available for overtime or rest-day working due to a pay dispute.
Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth has said the Scottish
Government is looking to phase out the practice of rest-day working, describing it as “outdated”.
However, one distraught passenger tweeted: “Really not good enough! As a family we’ve had 3 disrupted journeys this weekend and only 1 offered a replacement bus!! What a disgraceful service and a complete shambles you are when you can’t sort this !!!! ”
Before yesterday’s spike in cancellations, there were a further estimated 160 services cancelled over the course of Friday and Saturday.
A further 135 services have been curtailed since Friday.
Yesterday, Scotrail was unable to provide rail replacement transport to cover cancellations on at least two routes.
NEWLY nationalised Scotrail has blamed a “significant number” of train drivers involved in a pay dispute after more than 400 services were cancelled in just three days.
The new government-controlled Scotrail has been hit with growing rail chaos since Friday, with around 220 cancellations yesterday alone – including on the key Glasgow to Edinburgh route – due to a shortage of drivers.
Before yesterday’s growing wave of cancellations, there had been an estimated 160 service cancellations over Friday and Saturday.
A further 135 other services have been curtailed since Friday, with the number of train carriages reduced to carry fewer people.
Scotrail blamed a “significant number of drivers” who had declined to make themselves available for overtime work or working on their days off due to a pay dispute.
The issue comes as a separate pay dispute meant that there were no Transpennine Express trains operating on the Anglo Scottish West Coast Mainline yesterday.
Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth said the Scottish Government was looking to phase out the practice of rest-day working, describing it as “outdated”.
She said: “We want, ultimately, our rail unions to have a vested interest, a stake, in the vision of the new Scotrail and what that looks like, what that means for them and their members and the staff who work on our trains.
“I think that is hugely important. At the moment rest-day working continues to be needed. We are looking to phase out that practice.”
The latest spate of cancellations comes a week after Scotrail launched a half-price fare offer to try to entice people back onto trains in the wake of pandemic restrictions being lifted.
Yesterday, Scotrail was unable to provide rail replacement transport to cover cancellations on at least two routes – from Glasgow to Stranraer and Edinburgh to
North Berwick – due to lack of availability.
On other badly-hit routes – including the world-famous
West Highland Line, Glasgow to Aberdeen, and Edinburgh to Inverness services – passengers were told there was “very limited replacement transport”. Other badly-affected routes included the Glasgow to Paisley Canal service, where tickets were said to be accepted by Mcgill’s bus company.
The previous Sunday, driver shortages were estimated to have hit 100 services in Scotland. Since then, it is estimated that up to 600 services have been cancelled.
Train drivers’ union Aslef is preparing for a strike ballot over pay. It says the Scotrail system has always been “understaffed”, running on a six-day week basis, meaning it is relying on drivers to work out of hours, including Sundays, as they do not work on a seven-day basis.
The Scottish Government is now in charge of the rail operator, which runs about 2,400 services each day through the arms-length company, Scotrail Trains Ltd.
Scotrail apologised for the “disruption and convenience” caused to passengers, stating: “We’re reliant on drivers working overtime or on rest days because of delays to training new drivers caused by the pandemic. This affects all operators across Britain.”
It added that it would only cancel train services as a “last resort” after looking at all other options. A spokesperson added: “Scotrail has made a good offer that could potentially deliver an overall pay package worth a 7 per cent increase. This gives hardworking staff a welldeserved pay rise, recognises costof-living challenges faced by families across the country, and delivers value for the taxpayer.
“Unfortunately, since the drivers’ union Aslef announced its intention to recommend a ballot for strike action, a significant number of drivers have declined to make themselves available for overtime or rest-day working.”
However, the pay offer amounts to just 2.2% – with the rest made up of a discretionary performancebased payment.
Thousands of Network Rail workers are also being balloted for further strike action that could bring Scottish services to a standstill amid safety concerns over plans to cut hundreds of maintenance jobs.