DISRUPTIONS that caused hundreds of train cancellations this weekend could drag on to Tuesday, rail bosses have warned.
Works are still being undertaken to remove a train that came off the tracks in Coatbridge on Friday night as engineers try and repair damage to the track. The issue has been compounded by some drivers refusing to work overtime after rejecting a pay offer in an ongoing union dispute.
The twinned factors resulted in the cancellation or amendment of more than 230 journeys - amounting to one in five services – on Sunday. Many of these were on lines from Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Around 110 of these were caused by driver shortages and the other 120 by the derailment in Coatbridge.
According to the Scotsman, it is thought around 100 services were halted on Saturday after a train that was not in service was derailed on the Glasgow-Bathgate-Edinburgh line on Friday night.
In response, an emergency timetable has been introduced on the line and those to and from Balloch, Helensburgh and Milngavie, with trains being limited to an hourly service.
A reduced service will run across Glasgow on Sunday because the Argyle line, the city’s other east to west route, will not be opened again until Monday.
A ScotRail spokesperson said: “North Clyde line services are cancelled with the exception of an hourly service on the following: Helensburgh-Shettleston, Balloch-Springburn, Milngavie-Anniesland and Bathgate-Edinburgh.”
On Sunday, Network Rail said the Coatbridge line was expected to remain closed for “several days” and there was a “good chance” the repairs would continue into Tuesday.
According to the Scotsman, a spokesperson said the train would have to be re-railed, two sets of points replaced and damage repaired to the track and sleepers.
The industrial action over drivers’ overtime follows the Aslef union rejecting a “derisory” 2.2 percent pay rise last week.
