Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Matt Bryan

More travel misery for Lanarkshire commuters as 'significant disruption' expected from rail strikes

Lanarkshire residents are being warned of "significant disruption" to train services next week.

Strike action by RMT members of Network Rail will take place on Tuesday, June 21, Thursday, June 22, and Saturday, June 25.

A number of local routes will be affected and Scotrail has warned customers to expect several delays, and much earlier times for the last train on affected services.

It comes as the ongoing pay dispute led by the trade union rumbles on.

Next week's strike means a very limited number of services will operate on just five ScotRail routes in the Central Belt, with no service on all other routes.

On Tuesday, June 7, the RMT union announced three days of strike action across the UK railway network resulting from a pay dispute with Network Rail and some Department for Transport train operating companies.

This dispute does not involve ScotRail staff, however it will have a major knock-on effect on the train operator’s ability to provide services, as the RMT planned action will involve Network Rail staff in Scotland.

Many of the Network Rail staff who are due to take part in the planned industrial action occupy safety-critical roles and, as such, it will not be possible for ScotRail to run the vast majority of services.

Services will only operate on five routes and will cause delays across Lanarkshire.

Customers are being advised to only travel if they really need to and should consider alternative options where possible.

The railway will only be operational between 07.30am and 6.30pm on June 21, 23, and 25. The below services will run on these days:

Edinburgh – Glasgow via Falkirk High: two trains per hour

Edinburgh – Bathgate: two trains per hour

Glasgow – Hamilton/Larkhall: two trains per hour

Glasgow – Lanark: two trains per hour

Edinburgh – Glasgow via Shotts: one train per hour

Final services will depart well before 6.30pm, so customers should plan ahead to ensure they know when their last train will run.

Network Rail will not be unable to open any other signal boxes to operate passenger services on any other routes on the strike days.

Customer retail systems will be updated to reflect this over the coming days, in the meantime customers are advised to check the following page for information: Network Rail Industrial Action | ScotRail

Disruption to ScotRail services will not be confined to the days of strike action and will also impact the day following each day of action – June 22 (Wednesday), 24 (Friday), and 26 (Sunday).

On the days following strike action, there will be disruption caused by the reopening of signal boxes at different times across the country.

David Simpson, ScotRail Service Delivery Director, said: “It is very unfortunate to see such widespread disruption across the whole of the Great Britain rail network and we know this will be frustrating for ScotRail customers.

“Regrettably, this strike action by RMT members of Network Rail means that we will not be able to operate the vast majority of our services during the period of strike action.

"Customers should expect significant disruption to services next week, including on the days between strike action.

“On the five routes where we are able to operate a very limited service on strike days, we’re advising customers to seek alternative means of transport and to only travel if they really need to.”

Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.

And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head on over and give us a like and share!

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.