Rail passengers in Scotland are being warned to only travel if necessary on Wednesday, with strikes set to bring significant disruption to services.
Train operator ScotRail will be running a limited number of services on just five routes in the central belt during the industrial action by the RMT union, with some services also expected to be affected on Tuesday and Thursday.
It comes as bosses at the Unite trade union confirmed staff at Glasgow’s underground are also to go on strike – with the first walkout scheduled on the day of Rangers’ first home game of the season.
Wednesday’s rail disruptions come as part of the first of three planned days of strike action by RMT members against National Rail and other train operating companies.
Further action is to take place on August 18 and 20, with signallers and maintenance staff in safety-critical roles across Scotland set to take part.
ScotRail has warned passengers to only travel if necessary on the affected dates, and to plan ahead if they do.
A very limited number of trains will run in the central belt between 7.30am and 6.30pm on Wednesday.
ScotRail will run two trains per hour on the Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High line, the Edinburgh-Bathgate line, the Glasgow to Hamilton/Larkhall line and the Glasgow to Lanark line.
One train an hour will run on the Edinburgh to Glasgow via Shotts service.
Services on Tuesday and Thursday are also expected to be impacted due to the closing and reopening of signal boxes at different times across the network.
David Simpson, ScotRail service delivery director, 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 ScotRail customers.
We’re advising customers to seek alternative means of transport and to only travel if they really need to— David Simpson
“Regrettably, this strike action by RMT members of Network Rail means that we will not be able to operate the vast majority of our services during the period of strike action. Customers should expect significant disruption to services on strike days, as well as the following day.
“On the five routes where we are able to operate a very limited service on strike days, we’re advising customers to seek alternative means of transport and to only travel if they really need to.”
Meanwhile, Unite announced on Monday that its members on Glasgow’s subway have voted by 99% for strike action on an 83% turnout.
Industrial action has been scheduled for August 6, 9, 13 and 27 in response to a dispute over changes to duty schedules, with the union saying its members are facing “significant work-life pressures” due to increasingly being called in to work on short notice.
More than 200 members at Strathclyde Partnership for Transport are represented by Unite, including train drivers and station staff.
