ScotRail warns of ‘significant disruption’ on day of Scotland rugby game

ScotRail bosses are urging rugby fans heading to Scotland’s first autumn international to avoid using the train, as the operator warned further strike action will see “significant disruption”.

ScotRail will be able to run services on just three routes on Saturday October 29 – the day that Scotland take on Australia at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium

Members of the RMT trade union are set to walk out then as part of an ongoing dispute over pay.

More than 2,000 ScotRail employees are members of the trade union, with staff working as conductors, ticket examiners, station staff, engineering depot staff and CCTV operators all expected to take part in the action.

As a result, ScotRail has warned there will be widespread disruption to its services across the country.

However, the publicly owned rail operator insisted it remains open to resolving the dispute.

David Simpson, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “We’re really disappointed that the dispute with the RMT remains ongoing, given the strength of the improved pay offer ScotRail made.”

ScotRail has offered workers a 5% increase in basic pay, with Mr Simpson insisting that further strike action by the union was having a “damaging effect on railway’s recovery” from the Covid pandemic “at a time when we should be encouraging more people to travel”.

But he added: “Instead, our customers are being severely impacted and our staff losing out through lost wages.”

Mr Simpson continued: “Regrettably, we won’t be able to operate the vast majority of our services on Saturday 29 October and customers should expect significant disruption to services due to the large proportion of ScotRail staff who are members of the RMT trade union.

“We’re advising customers, including rugby fans intending to travelling to Scotland’s first autumn international at Murrayfield, to seek alternative means of transport and to only travel by train if they really need to.”

ScotRail said the strike action means it can only operate a limited service between 7.30am and 6.30pm on Saturday October 29, with a half-hourly service on the Milngavie to Edinburgh Waverley via Glasgow Queen Street Low Level route, and an hourly service on both the Glasgow Central to Lanark and the Glasgow Central to Larkhall services.