Covid in Scotland: ScotRail cancels 118 services as virus spikes

More than 100 ScotRail services have been cancelled as the rise in Covid cases gathers pace.

The train operator's website showed 118 cancelled trains on Monday morning, with staff illness stated as the cause of almost all of them.

Positive cases and self-isolation are having an increasing impact on trains and other public services as the new variant advances.

Bus services, attractions and theatre shows have also been badly hit.

ScotRail said it was planning for a further rise in cases and was putting contingency plans in place to revise timetables to ensure a level of certainty to rail services.

The rail operator said that like all businesses, it was not immune to the impact of coronavirus on its staff.

The rail operator said it has seen a significant increase in the number of colleagues who had either tested positive for coronavirus or who were self-isolating as a result of being in close contact with someone who had.

The number of staff absences - described as "abnormal" - was mainly affecting journeys across the central belt of Scotland.

Planning is now ongoing to looking at various timetable options and ScotRail is "planning extensively for all eventualities" but it warned that some level of disruption should be expected over the coming weeks.

David Ross, ScotRail's communications director, said: "We're sorry to our customers who are being inconvenienced as a result of an increase in the number of our staff self-isolating due to Covid."

Trains across the Avanti West Coast network were also subject to short-notice cancellations due to the impact of Covid-19 on train crew availability.

The picture appears similar on bus services across the country.

A First Bus spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that we're experiencing some disruption to our services as a result of an increase in the volume of our drivers having to self-isolate in line with Covid procedures.

"We're doing absolutely everything possible to make sure that we're running as many journeys as we can for our customers in very challenging circumstances."

The company said it was updating social media feeds with any short notice cancellations to keep passengers fully informed.

Edinburgh Airport warned people travelling for Christmas that getting through the airport may take longer due to staff absences and changing travel rules.

A spokesman said: "Like all transport providers, teams across the Edinburgh Airport campus are seeing an impact due to the rapid spread of coronavirus.

"We and our partners are working hard to mitigate that where possible but passengers should be prepared for slightly longer waits and additional checks due to changing restrictions across Europe.

"Teams across the airport are working hard to get people to where they need and want to be and we apologise for any potential disruption. "

After the cancellation of some music shows last week, panto and theatre took a hit this weekend.

The Playhouse in Edinburgh cancelled its White Christmas performances on Saturday and Sunday following a positive case backstage.

It later cancelled the rest of the run.

The Jamie and the Unicorn pantomime at Ayr's Gaiety Theatre was also cancelled on Sunday due to suspected virus cases.

Then on Monday the theatre announced that due to confirmed cases of Covid 19, all remaining performances were off.

The theatre is now offering a filmed version of the show on-demand.

Edinburgh Castle closed its gates on Sunday too, because of staff illness.

The attraction tweeted that it would shut temporarily from 16:00 after "a number of staff members testing positive for coronavirus".

All members of staff identified are now self-isolating and events on Sunday evening and on Monday were cancelled.

It was hoped the castle would reopen, after a deep clean, on Tuesday.

Omicron is now the dominant variant in Scotland.

Another 5,924 Covid cases were confirmed on Sunday.

Currently, Scots are being advised to reduce their socialising as much as possible and to limit gatherings to three households - though large-scale events including the Scottish League Cup final have gone ahead and Edinburgh Hogmanay event is still planned to take place.

Nicola Sturgeon warned on Friday that Omicron was now the dominant strain of the virus and a "tsunami" was beginning to hit Scotland.

New guidance for shops, hospitality venues and other businesses was introduced in a bid to stem the transmission of Covid.