SCOTRAIL is warning Borders Railway customers and others throughout Scotland to expect significant disruption during the latest round of strike action by RMT members of Network Rail.       

The RMT union announced its members at Network Rail will take part in 24-hour strike action on Saturday, October 1 and Saturday October 8 across the Great Britain railway network resulting from a pay dispute with the track and infrastructure operator.       

For ScotRail customers, this means a very limited number of services will operate on a limited number of routes.        

The dispute does not involve ScotRail staff, however it will have a major impact on the train operator’s ability to provide services as the RMT planned action involves Network Rail staff in Scotland.       

Many of the Network Rail staff that are due to take part in the planned industrial action occupy safety-critical roles and, as such, it will not be possible for ScotRail to run the vast majority of services.     

On the days of strike action October1 & 8, ScotRail has confirmed it will operate services on 11 routes across the Central Belt, Fife, and the Borders between the hours of 07.30 and 18.30.   

The routes and frequency of service which will be in operation include Edinburgh Waverley – Tweedbank where two trains per hour will run.     

 The train operator is warning customers that the final services will depart well before 18.30, so customers should plan ahead and ensure they know when their last train will depart.      

  Disruption to ScotRail services will not be confined to the days of strike action and will also impact the following day, Sunday, 2 October and Sunday, 9 October caused by the reopening of signal boxes at different times across the country.

Signal boxes are key pieces of Network Rail infrastructure located across the rail network that control train movements. Their use is critical to ensure that the railway can operate safely.     

While large signalling centres in the Central Belt will be able to operate from 07.15, this will not be the case at manual boxes elsewhere and it may well be much later before many routes are able to operate as normal. This is particularly the case for routes beyond the Central Belt.      

Customers are advised to check the ScotRail app or visit scotrail.co.uk for the latest information before travelling.     

  The RMT trade union has also announced that strike action will take place on Monday, 10 October as part of a pay dispute with ScotRail. The train operator is currently working on contingency plans for services on  October 10 and will update customers as soon as the plans are finalised. 

  David Simpson, ScotRail Service Delivery Director, said: ”It’s really disappointing to see more widespread disruption across the whole Great Britain rail network at a time when we need to be encouraging more people back to the railway.   

“For ScotRail, it’s going to mean that we won’t be able to operate the vast majority of our services, which we know will be really frustrating for our customers.          

“ScotRail customers should expect significant disruption to services on Saturday, 1 October and Saturday, 8 October, as well as on the following days. 

 “We’re advising customers to seek alternative means of transport and to only travel if they really need to on the day of strike action. Customers should check your journey in advance to make sure your train is running if you’re travelling on the day following strike action, Sunday, October 2 and Sunday, October 9 .”