RMT strike to force cancellation of all Inverness trains for two days, Scotrail confirms
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INVERNESS could be without any rail services for two full days next week if RMT members employed by Network Rail walk out on strike as planned, Scotrail has revealed.
The union is set to go on strike for 24 hours from Monday afternoon into Tuesday after members rejected a pay deal from Network Rail which would have seen them each receive a one-off £500 payment this year, followed by rises matching inflation for the following three years.
The strike will begin at 5pm on Bank Holiday Monday and will see station workers, signallers and maintenance staff walk out in what would be the first UK-wide railway strike in two decades.
Scotrail has now confirmed that the logistics caused by splitting the strike over two days means it will operate virtually none of its services on Monday or Tuesday. Apart from a very limited skeleton service in the Central Belt there will be no Scotrail services at all. The company has also launched a dedicated web page www.scotrail.co.uk/strike where people will be able to find the latest updates.
Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said: "If this UK-wide industrial action goes ahead as planned, the impact on customers is going to be severe. For the vast majority of people in Scotland, there will be no train service at all on these two days.
“We will only be able to run a handful of services, and those that we are able to run will operate on a reduced service. Those services will be much busier than usual, so if customers are able to make other arrangements, I would kindly ask them to please do so.
“We have released this information early because it is our priority to make sure that our customers have enough time to make decisions about their journey.
“We have been in contact with employers and business organisations to let them know about the impact of the strike. We are also in touch with local authorities, the NHS and other public bodies to make sure that they are fully aware of what is happening.
“I am disappointed that our customers have to experience this level of disruption. We are doing everything we can to safely run as many services as is possible under the circumstances.
“I am asking customers to please take action now and to make alternative travel arrangements for Monday and Tuesday. Visit our special web page daily during the run up to the strike and use our JourneyCheck alert service, or the ScotRail app from Saturday onwards to make sure you have the most up to date information about your journey.
“I know that many people right across the country are going to be seriously inconvenienced by this UK-wide industrial action. I am genuinely sorry that, under these circumstances, we cannot run our normal levels of train services that our customers expect. I hope that by releasing the information early, we are giving customers and employers enough time to plan ahead and make other plans.”
