Lanarkshire rail passengers are again being warned of “significant disruption” during tomorrow’s latest day of strike action.
There will be no trains at all serving Airdrie, Coatbridge and East Kilbride, while there will be only a half-hourly daytime service on the Hamilton/Larkhall, Lanark and Shotts lines – which are among only five routes across Scotland to be operating.
Passengers are being told “only to travel if they really need to”; while disruption is also expected today and on Thursday as a result of the strike, and two more are planned for August 18 and 20, which is the first week of the new Lanarkshire school year.
Network Rail staff who are members of the RMT union are taking nationwide industrial action in a dispute over pay and jobs, following three days of similar action last month.
Although Scotrail workers are not involved in the strike action, the train operator says that “it will not be possible to run the vast majority of services” due to the vital “safety-critical” roles normally carried out by the Network Rail staff.
The limited services running in Lanarkshire on Wednesday will operate only between 7.30am and 6.30pm, with passengers being advised: “Final services will depart well before 6.30pm, so customers should plan ahead to ensure they know when their last train will run.”
Scotrail add that “a small number of trains” are also set to be cancelled tonight, saying: “This is to allow trains to be moved into the right position, as on most routes, [they] cannot be moved again until 7.15am on Thursday [and] by taking action on Tuesday evening, it will help to ensure that as many passenger trains can operate on Thursday morning.”
There will be two trains per hour serving Larkhall, Merryton, Chatelherault, Hamilton Central and West, Blantyre, Newton, Cambuslang and then Glasgow Central, with Wednesday’s first train leaving Larkhall at 7.30am and the last arrival at the station being at 6.15pm.
Lanark, Carluke, Wishaw, Shieldmuir, Motherwell, Bellshill, Uddingston and Cambuslang will also have a half-hourly service to Glasgow, with the first trains leaving each end of the line at 7.30am and the last returning to Lanark at 6.19pm.
There will also be one train per hour on the intercity line passing through Shotts, Holytown, Bellshill and Uddingston; while Croy will see two daytime trains per hour on the alternative Edinburgh to Glasgow route which travels via Falkirk.
Scotrail say that even where limited services are operating, passengers “should consider alternative options where possible”; and say that there will be continued disruption following each strike day as signal boxes are reopened.
Network Rail staff will also be staging strike action on the two days next month, leading to warnings of disruption from Thursday August 18 – the second day of the new school term for pupils across Lanarkshire – until Sunday August 21.
Scotrail service delivery director David Simpson 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 customers.
“Regrettably, we will not be able to operate the vast majority of our services during the period of strike action – passengers should expect significant disruption on strike days and the following days, and on the five routes where we are able to operate a very limited service, we’re advising customers to seek alternative means of transport and to only travel if they really need to.”
Train passengers are advised to check the ScotRail app or website for the latest information before travelling.
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