Scotrail RMT strike action and possible temporary service cuts to a third of services

[FtoE]

Am I reading the temporary timetable correctly that there's no train from Fort William back to Glasgow after the 11.40am?

How temporary is temporary? I due to be travelling on the 21st June and was planning to be on the 5.16pm?

The ‘temporary’ timetable is loaded on the Scotrail App up to 10th June. I suppose it can be extended at will though.
I’m amazed this isn’t bigger news. It’s an appalling state of affairs, approaching peak holiday season where so many people are holidaying in the U.K.

 

[Mag_seven]

I’m amazed this isn’t bigger news.

I see they chose to announce it on the day that a Scottish football team were playing in a major European final - not a case of cynical "news management" surely.

 

[FtoE]

I see they chose to announce it on the day that a Scottish football team were playing in a major European final - not a case of cynical "news management" surely.

I noticed that too.

Edit: The football story is still top of the BBC Scotland news site.

 

[ScotsRail]

The ‘temporary’ timetable is loaded on the Scotrail App up to 10th June. I suppose it can be extended at will though.
I’m amazed this isn’t bigger news. It’s an appalling state of affairs, approaching peak holiday season where so many people are holidaying in the U.K.

Unless there is a major breakthrough between Scotrail and the drivers (or the Government step in) then this timetable will be indefinite.

 

[Deltic1961]

Most people I know see Scotrail as expensive and unreliable. Granted if I were going to Edinburgh from Aberdeen I wouldn't even consider Scotrail when LNER covers the route and it's so much more pleasant an experience overall. If I book LNEr it's a comfortable airy Azuma. If I book Scotrail it's a gamble between something rekindled from the 70s or a 2 car 158 or 3 car 170.

From what I see up here there are many commuter services during the day that are practically empty. Why not cut them instead of literally everything after 8pm. Just dosn't make sense at all.

All this will do is push people on to other modes of transport meaning less future revenue. Tax payers can't be expected to prop up a failing business forever.

 

[Andy Pacer]

It could scupper a lot of people's Summer holiday plans, to/from the tourist areas particularly.

 

[paul1609]

Revenue nationwide is currently at 81%. Not quite as apocalyptic as some (not saying you personally) people like to make out.

Does that 81% take in to account the 2020,1&2 fare increases? 81% of 2019 income ignoring 3 years inflation is pretty apocalyptic especially given that railway industry inflation was way out of control in 2019.

 

[Furrball]

Unless there is a major breakthrough between Scotrail and the drivers (or the Government step in) then this timetable will be indefinite.

And it will devastate the battered and bruised nighttime economy

 

[Bletchleyite]

And it will devastate the battered and bruised nighttime economy

Will it, or will people just get the train in and share an Uber home?

It's certainly very bad, but I think we can sometimes overstate the importance of rail.

 

[VioletEclipse]

And it will devastate the battered and bruised nighttime economy

no trains home after 8pm (even 5pm or earlier in some places within the central belt) is going to put a lot of people off going out at night, not to mention the thousands of people who will struggle to get to/from work, uni, seeing family and more with such a minimal train service, it's just awful.

 

[Southsider]

If anything was going to drive people back to car use this is it. Transport Scotland are an enigma, and that's on a good day.

It really winds me up when Pro SNP supporters keep pulling out the England is worse line when plainly they're not.

If they know they're going to need it for a long period, they will get it if they pay a decent rate. Getting it on short notice is what is more difficult. If you offer a well-paid 6 month contract to a typical family coach firm they'll likely happily acquire a vehicle and recruit a member of staff for it. They aren't as easy to get as they were, but if you pay a very good rate you'll easily poach from a bus company.

So if they wanted to add a coach round trip to the Far North/West Highland for the duration of this (attempt at a) timetable I reckon they would quite easily get that at the right money.

At what point do you take this to its natural conclusion - lift the tracks, lay tarmac and run buses? I confess I know little about the rail industry but, from what I read on here and other sources, it is a high cost and over complicated operation which is failing in its prime objective of moving people from A to B in an effective manner.

 

[LoogaBarooga]

Will it, or will people just get the train in and share an Uber home?

It's certainly very bad, but I think we can sometimes overstate the importance of rail.

An Uber from Edinburgh to Markinch or Kirkcaldy? Good ane.

 

[Furrball]

Will it, or will people just get the train in and share an Uber home?

It's certainly very bad, but I think we can sometimes overstate the importance of rail.

Certainly in Glasgow getting a taxi can be a challenge at the moment

And the late night trains have been quite busy

 

[scotrail158713]

The Scottish national team are due to play a World Cup play-off at Hampden on the 1st of June (1945 kick-off) followed by another international game 7 days later (also at Hampden with a 1945 kick-off). The play-off game is rescheduled from March and is a sell-out 50,000+ crowd where I'd guess many would have been planning to take the train. Only the last train from Mount Florida is at 2046 now so is no use to anyone. All in all that should go well!

 

[Bletchleyite]

An Uber from Edinburgh to Markinch or Kirkcaldy? Good ane.

People do stuff like that (maybe not quite that far) around Liverpool and Manchester. Or as an alternative you rotate drivers/non-drinkers.

 

[LoogaBarooga]

People do stuff like that (maybe not quite that far) around Liverpool and Manchester. Or as an alternative you rotate drivers/non-drinkers.

It just ain't going to happen up here.

 

[Deltic1961]

It just shows how totally out of touch managers and politicians are with the general public.

Scottish government ministers have their speeches prepared for them, itineries organised and a chauffer driven car waiting.

Would love to see them trying to walk, cycle or take the train everywhere. But then that's for everyone else.

 

[Unstoppable]

Yet again the railway is shown to be the true embarrassment it is. The service is there for passengers. As soon as the railway man up and get these deluded unions into line the better. It is no wonder people use alternative modes to get from A - B. How that industry can go home at night and say they have done a good job is totally beyond me

 

[uglymonkey]

Too many people (still) believe ,"the railways are run for the benefit of the railways" and not the long suffering customer, who quite likely has no alternative transport.

 

[Jordan1296]

I have raised various complaints with Scotrail and the "customer first" attitude is nowhere to be seen. Still amazed I got a response from a customer service manager that basically told me to pee off and go to the ombudsman.

Station staff equally as unhelpful when trains cancelled etcetera. Couldn't care less.

If Scotrail were a private unsubsidised business they'd have gone bust years ago.

There are some station staff at Aberdeen who couldn't be more helpful but, as you say, some of them - particularly gateline staff, shouldn't be in their job if they don't like working with the public.

 

[Deltic1961]

Absolutely. We were going for the 22:50 service to Inverurie which showed on the app as platform 6S, then when we got to the gateline the barrier wouldn't let us through. When we finally found a member of staff we were informed it had suddenly changed to 7N so we had to leg it or miss the train.

BTP were there as well but just ignored what was going on.

To say the gateline staff were unhelpful would be putting it mildly .... and it's generally the same member of staff at Aberdeen with the bad attitude.

 

[Jordan1296]

The temporary timetable starting next Monday is, for Aberdeen, worse than during the lockdowns in some respect. First train into Aberdeen from my local station is 0733 - the first two services have been temporarily withdrawn, followed by an hour gap in the morning peak and a 1 hour 15 minute gap heading home during the evening peak. Unless ScotRail provide more carriages to make up the shortfall, they are going to struggle massively!

Absolutely. We were going for the 22:50 service to Inverurie which showed on the app as platform 6S, then when we got to the gateline the barrier wouldn't let us through. When we finally found a member of staff we were informed it had suddenly changed to 7N so we had to leg it or miss the train.

BTP were there as well but just ignored what was going on.

To say the gateline staff were unhelpful would be putting it mildly .... and it's generally the same member of staff at Aberdeen with the bad attitude.

I know who you mean. The train allocations since the timetable change on Monday have been erratic, at best. The 1727 to Inverness on Tuesday had 6 carriages, and there have been local Inverurie-Montrose runs running with three carriages.

 

[ScotsRail]

Will it, or will people just get the train in and share an Uber home?

It's certainly very bad, but I think we can sometimes overstate the importance of rail.

At a guess you aren't actually living in Scotland if you think an Uber is in anyway a replacement for the commute.

 

[sannox]

Good news for the bus companies - Citylink are still running 24hrs a day between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

 

[northwichcat]

It's bad planning. Retirement can be predicted, so can general staff turnover. Manpower plans exist to plan and predict what staffing levels are required in the future. Again, its worth reiterating. Unplanned and unpredictable is OK. Reliance is not.

Having zero flexibility in your workforce isnt sensible and leads us to where we are today. Basing anything on the good will of your staff means you absolutely need that good will.

What I was suggesting is the long term plans are a prediction and the prediction may be wrong.

Under the Equalities Act there is no fixed age for retiring. You may be able to claim your workplace pension when you get to a certain age and your state pension when you get to a certain age. However, it is illegal for your employer to force you to retire at either of those ages. If you want to pack it in early, you're free to do so. If you're still fit and healthy and want to carry on working, you're free to do so. If you want to retire the day you become eligible for your pension, you're also free to do that.

Of course if there's 100 drivers set to reach usual retirement age and 99% normally retire at the usual retirement age, then the train operator's plan should plan for recruiting replacements for 99.

 

[Watershed]

What I was suggesting is the long term plans are a prediction and the prediction may be wrong.

Under the Equalities Act there is no fixed age for retiring. You may be able to claim your workplace pension when you get to a certain age and your state pension when you get to a certain age. However, it is illegal for your employer to force you to retire at either of those ages. If you want to pack it in early, you're free to do so. If you're still fit and healthy and want to carry on working, you're free to do so. If you want to retire the day you become eligible for your pension, you're also free to do that.

Of course if there's 100 drivers set to reach usual retirement age and 99% normally retire at the usual retirement age, then the train operator's plan should plan for recruiting replacements for 99.

Mandatory retirement ages can be lawful. It depends on the justification and whether this is sufficient when balanced against the discriminatory impact.

 

[Davester50]

As much as I think the current Scottish Government are a bunch of second rate populists who couldn't run a bath, let a lone a country, this can't be blamed on them re-nationalising ScotRail.
You can blame them for overseeing a failed Abellio franchise, and the years of mismanagement of it.
You can blame them for the introducing a timetable so reliant on overtime, when they're blaming Covid for being down 130 drivers. With the amount of services cancelled, there would still be plenty if they had the full complement.
You can blame them for the timing of the announcement so close to the introduction of the new one.
You can factor in the longer and tougher restrictions they had for covid, long after crowds were back at football, gigs, etc.

This is an unmitigated failure of management. Will anything happen? I doubt it.

 

[northwichcat]

Mandatory retirement ages can be lawful. It depends on the justification and whether this is sufficient when balanced against the discriminatory impact.

OK but that probably wouldn't apply to Scotrail. Presuming ASLEF have an agreement in place to allow drivers to retire earlier than 67.

 

[Ex-controller]

Anger over the early finish times is now making the news here…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-61504782

Return to normal ScotRail timetable 'vital' after services slashed​

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 plans to cut third of services - union
• Train driver shortage causes wave of cancellations
• ScotRail goes back into public ownership

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."

'Worst service for a generation'​

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.

 

[David M]

The opposition in Scotland will happily side with the staff when a 10% pay increase is requested.
The opposition in Scotland routinely complain about annual fare increases (always at a lower % than in England) and regularly demand that fares be slashed.
This is simply opposition for oppositions sake and, in the real world, money has to come from somewhere. No-one seems able to suggest where it should come from.
We are all (unless you're wealthy) going to have a dreadful few years but train staff start off in a much better position financially than most.
I have no idea what the solution is but getting round the table for constructive discussion is surely better than industrial action (for everyone, rail staff included).
Aslef might do so but I suspect the RMT won't - the language the RMT use is from the 1970s, Aslef seem much more measured.
Just some idle thoughts.