Anger over 'devastating' cuts to ScotRail services

Opposition parties have warned that temporary cuts to about 700 ScotRail services will be devastating for many passengers and businesses.

The temporary timetable will be brought in next Monday because of a driver shortage caused by a pay dispute between ScotRail and the Aslef union.

It will see the last train on many routes departing before 20:00.

Nicola Sturgeon has said the timetable will get back to normal "as quickly as possible".

ScotRail was nationalised by the Scottish government last month after the previous operator, Abellio, had its franchise ended early amid criticism of the quality of the service.

Its May 2022 timetable had approximately 2,150 weekday services, but from next week this will be reduced temporarily by a third to 1,456.

Hundreds of trains have been cancelled since 8 May when many drivers opted not to work overtime. Drivers' union Aslef had balloted members for strike action after rejecting a 2.2% pay offer.

Similar cuts are expected to be made to the Saturday and Sunday timetables with details due to be made public in the coming days.

During first minister's questions at Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said it was vital to get rail services back to normal as quickly as possible, with the timetable to be formally reviewed on 3 June.

But she said an agreement on fair pay would need to be reached with rail workers before the timetable could be reinstated.

Additional drivers were also being trained up, she added.

"I expect ScotRail to make sure that this temporary timetable is just that - temporary - and the timetable gets back to normal as quickly as possible," she said.

Ms Sturgeon also urged Aslef and ScotRail to continue negotiations to reach a settlement.

She said: "I would say to the unions that I understand their job is to represent their members and to get a fair pay deal for members, but let's see both parties get round the table and negotiate that in good faith - I think that's what the travelling public want to see as well."

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said passengers were now paying more than ever in fares and getting the worst service seen for a generation.

He also said the reduced timetable would have a profound impact on businesses as well as passengers.

Mr Ross said: "Last month, the first minister proclaimed that nationalising ScotRail was a new beginning that would deliver a railway for the nation.

"But after just seven weeks, nationalisation is already proving a disaster. As with the ferries, as soon as this government steps into sort things out, the problems get even worse.

"These cuts will also be devastating for businesses still reeling from the impact of the Covid pandemic. They are facing another lost summer."

Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour's leader, said the first minister had overseen the biggest cuts to Scotland's railways in over half a century.

Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth later told BBC Scotland's The Nine she expected 38 new drivers to complete their training by the end of the summer, 55 by the end of the year, and 100 by June 2023.

She said she would meet Scotrail representatives on Friday.

Among the angry passengers to contact the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme was Aaron, from Fife, who said the first train he will be able to get to Edinburgh will be half an hour later than normal from Monday.

He said: "The 07:01 is the first train to Edinburgh, the next one is 08:03. This will affect people's childcare and ability to go into the office."

The last train home to Dalmeny will now be at 19:20.

The brewery worker added: "It's two-pronged for hospitality. Businesses will lose the revenue from people who won't go out, or take their cars and don't drink, and they will find it harder to employ people to work late."

Meanwhile, club and venue owner Donald MacLeod said train services being being cut would "cripple" the fragile recovery of hospitality after the Covid pandemic.

The Night Time Industries Association Scotland described the cuts as devastating, adding that it was "another cruel blow" for the hard-pressed sector.

Its statement added: "The Scottish government must urgently resolve this dispute or they will be putting at risk both Scotland's economic recovery and the future of many thousands of small businesses and jobs."

ScotRail's David Simpson said how long the temporary timetable remained would depend on talks with the union, but admitted that it could be in place for several weeks.

He said: "I'd hope temporary means as short as possible but it does depend on making some progress with the pay talks which are the root cause of this problem.

"We're trying to minimise the impact of this by making the service more predictable to customers and we plan to leave this timetable in place until we make any progress in the pay talks."

He added that the pandemic had had an impact on the driver training programme.

Meanwhile, the Aslef union accused the Scottish government of "industrial vandalism" over the cuts.

Kevin Lindsay, Aslef Scotland organiser, said: "This is what happens when you have political interference in industrial relations.

"It's time the Scottish government allowed ScotRail and Aslef to negotiate in a fair and open manner.

"These cuts will have a devastating effect on passengers and their confidence in our railway."

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "The difficult decision to revise the service timetable was made because of the level of disruption caused over the last two weekends by many drivers choosing not to work their rest days.

"That is of course their right and we respect that. Many of them are clearly prioritising family and leisure time over the financial benefits that come from such working."

He said ScotRail would have a full complement of drivers fully trained by October, reducing the need for drivers to work rest days.