There will be no rail services in Tayside and Fife during three days of strike action next week.
A ScotRail boss today delivered the grim news to travellers that trains would run on just five routes across Scotland on June 21, 23 and 25.
None of these will serve Perth, Dundee or stations in Fife or Angus.
A dispute over jobs and conditions with trade union RMT means staff involved in running railway infrastructure are downing tools.
As a result, railway signal boxes will be out of use on those days.
ScotRail services 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 ScotRail customers.
“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.”
Disruption not limited to three days
ScotRail has warned passengers that disruption to services “will not be confined to the days of strike action”.
There is also likely to be widespread cancellations on the days following strike action.
The ScotRail director explained not all signal boxes across the country would be up and running again immediately on those days.
“Customers should expect significant disruption to services next week, including on the days between strike action,” said David.
“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.”
During the strike days, limited services will serve Edinburgh, Bathgate, Glasgow, Hamilton and Lanark.
What about the ScotRail pay offer?
It looks like strikes threatened under a separate dispute with train drivers could be off.
On July 11, we will know the outcome of a ballot over ScotRail drivers’ pay.
Members of train drivers’ union Aslef had threatened to walk out having initially been offered a “derisory” 2.2% pay offer.
ScotRail has since raised that to 5%. The company will fund the additional 2.8%.
It would take the salary for train drivers to £55,264.
Aslef has recommended its members to accept the deal, raising hopes that a rail strike over this particular dispute will not go ahead.
However, railway workers are also involved in a national dispute led by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.
Union officials claim the UK Government is planning to “impose austerity across the railway”.
They say the government wants to slash thousands of jobs and that will compromise the safety of staff and passengers.
More than 50,000 railway workers across the UK will walk out later this month in what RMT officials have billed as the biggest dispute on the network since 1989.
What if I’ve bought a ticket
ScotRail is offering refunds for those unable to use their tickets because of the rail strikes. Company bosses say passengers can claim refunds through the ScotRail website.
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