Fresh rail strikes have been announced for October, continuing the wave of industrial action moving across the country.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) confirmed that 40,000 of its members at Network Rail and 15 train operators will walk out on October 8, impacting services across the UK, including Edinburgh.
Rail strikes are already planned on October 1 and 5, threatening fresh travel chaos for passengers. While ScotRail are not associated with these strikes, Network Rail staff provide essential safety work and without them, trains simply can't run.
READ MORE- ScotRail Edinburgh warning as major routes to close this weekend
In previous RMT strikes where Network Rail are included, ScotRail has run a skeleton service and urges people to consider using other modes of transport on strike days.
For the strikes on October 1, ScotRail has confirmed the following services will run and while they haven't released the revised timetable for October 8, we can expect it to be similar.
The following services will be the only services running between 7.30am and 6.30 on Saturday, October 1:
- Edinburgh – Glasgow via Falkirk High: two trains per hour
- Edinburgh – Helensburgh: 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
- Edinburgh – Cowdenbeath: two trains per hour
- Edinburgh – Tweedbank: two trains per hour
- Edinburgh - Larbert: one train per hour
- Glasgow Queen St – Larbert: one train per hour
- Glasgow Queen St – Falkirk Grahamston: one train per hour
- Milngavie – Springburn: two trains per hour
Trains from Edinburgh to Stirling, North Berwick, Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen are all likely to amongst canceled services on October 8, going by the list above.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said it was encouraging that the new Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan had met the union.
He said: “We welcome this more positive approach from the government to engage with us as a first step to finding a suitable settlement. However, as no new offer has been tabled, our members have no choice but to continue this strike action.
“We will continue to negotiate in good faith, but the employers and government need to understand our industrial campaign will continue for as long as it takes,” he said.
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We have received notification of another strike by the RMT on Saturday October 8, just one week after another walkout it has co-ordinated with train drivers at Aslef.
“This latest strike will again mean very significant disruption for passengers, and we’ll be asking people to only travel if absolutely necessary due to the reduced service that will be in place.
“Full timetables for all upcoming strike days will be published in due course.”
RMT members at train companies and Network Rail as well as train drivers in Aslef will strike on October 1 in the long-running row over pay, jobs and conditions.
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