Almost 700 train services are temporarily removed after a pay row triggered a wave of driver shortages.
Ministers insist that scaling back the number of services under theBut hospitality and entertainment businesses have warned the transport situation will affect their income, while some commuters are concerned they could be struggling to get home using the rail network.
The original May 2022 timetable had approximately 2,150 weekday services, but from Monday this will be reduced temporarily by a third to 1,456. Opposition politicians have criticised the move which comes after a Scottish government owned company took over the running of ScotRail last month. The previous operator Abellio had its franchise ended early amid criticism of the quality of the service.ScotRail's service delivery director David Simpson conceded that the temporary timetable would see a reduction in service but said it would also provide customers with "a level of certainty and reliability". "I hope we have this in place for as short a time as possible because we recognise the disruption it is causing to people," he told BBC Radio's"We need to sit down and talk against the background where everyone is clear that we need to compromise. The demands of 10, 11% are just not sustainable in the current economic climate of the railway. We need to find a way round that."He said ScotRail needed to demonstrate "taxpayer value" in the way the company operated. "We think the offer we have made is a strong one," Mr Simpson added. "It's 2.2% on basic plus 5% through the revenue share. We think that reflects the current economic position of the industry but also offers good package for drivers and other grades that allows them to share in the success of ScotRail as they move forward."The operator has been dependent on drivers working extra hours, following delays in training new staff during the Covid pandemic. Mr Simpson said ScotRail could return to a full timetable if drivers returned to the previous level of rest-day working, but added that its training scheme for new drivers was "going very well" with 130 new drivers currently going through the programme. Under the new timetable, the last train on many routes will now depart up to four hours earlier than usual.The frequency of many services will also be reduced with, for example, only one direct service a day running fromThis compares with three under the old timetable and means the only other option is the 18:15 service. It goes via Fort William, where passengers must change to the Caledonian Sleeper. The Scottish government has said a train driver in Scotland typically earns more than £50,000 a year, and has urged the rail unions to negotiate with ScotRail. But Aslef has said it was "not sensible" to offer a 2.2% pay increase with inflation running at the current levels.Scottish organiser Kevin Lindsay called on ScotRail to get back to the negotiating table so the "ridiculous timetable cuts" could be withdrawn.: "I'm desperate to get round the negotiating table but I can't negotiate with myself. "I need somebody from ScotRail or Transport Scotland to come along with the authority to make a deal so we can move forward because this is damaging Scotland's economy, it's damaging our cultural events, we really need some action on this to move this forward." He added: "I appreciate other sectors and other workers may not be on the same salaries or may not be making the same demands, but this isn't a race to the bottom, my job is to protect the terms and conditions of train drivers, and train drivers are telling me quite clearly they are looking for a sensible settlement that we can actually move forward on to deliver for the passengers of Scotland."if the unions were making reasonable demands, Employment Minister Richard Lochhead said: "My message to all workers in Scotland, in all these sectors, is that we have to sensible. "Everything has to be affordable because the country is in a very precarious position at the moment and if we take wrong decisions we could end up with a recession."First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said last week she hoped the timetable would get back to normal "as quickly as possible". However, this will depend on either a resolution to the pay row or new drivers completing their training, which is expected to take a few months. Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth has said she expects 38 new drivers to be qualified by the end of the summer, 55 by the end of the year, and 100 by June 2023. She has previously described the practice of rest day working as "outdated" and that the Scottish government was looking to phase it out. "I would encourage both partners to sit round the table today," she said on Monday. "We need to see negotiations move on and that means compromise on both sides.She added: "We need to make nationalisation a success. I want the railway unions to be part of that success." Graham Simpson, the Scottish Conservatives transport spokesman, said "hard-pressed passengers deserve better". "Just seven weeks into Nat Rail and Scotland already faces a summer of discontent and service cuts," he said. "The SNP must sort this mess and address the travel misery facing commuters by thrashing out a resolution with the unions."Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
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