ScotRail reducing Sunday timetables from this week

[ScotrailINV]

Afternoon all,

ScotRail will be running reduced timetables from this Sunday (5th July) onwards due to the lack of drivers volunteering to work Sunday's during the ongoing dispute. Details here.

Full text:

ScotRail has confirmed that ongoing train driver unavailability will force it to reduce the number of trains in the timetable on Sundays, starting this weekend, Sunday 5 July. At this stage only Sunday train services are affected.

While ScotRail will run fewer trains on a Sunday, most of those trains will have more carriages and, in so doing, provide almost the same capacity on every route as is offered by the current services. ScotRail will also operate bus services to enable important connections with ferry services.

The final timetable will be published on Thursday 2 July, but ScotRail is asking customers to take action now so that they can plan ahead for the weekend. A dedicated webpage has been set up at www.scotrail.co.uk/sundays where all temporary timetables will be published alongside any other relevant information.

The reason for the unavailability of train drivers is that Sunday rail services in Scotland are partly dependent on voluntary cover being provided by train drivers. The number of train drivers volunteering for Sunday work has declined steeply in recent days due to ongoing pay negotiations, resulting in a reduction of trains on Sundays.

ScotRail has tabled an offer which would see train drivers receive a 2.5% pay rise and, in addition, a one-off £500 bonus payment for ensuring that Sunday services are covered. Added together, this amounts to a 3.7% offer for 2015-16. This offer has not been accepted yet.

ScotRail has also proposed a solution to the volunteering on Sundays issue by committing to create up to 100 more jobs in Scotland for new train drivers – almost an extra 10% increase in current train driver numbers. This will mean that Sunday train services are robust in the future and not dependent on train drivers’ volunteering.

Phil Verster, Managing Director of the ScotRail Alliance said:

“We have inherited a business that runs a seven day railway with a system of staff rostering that covers only six days. Our customers want the same level of service right throughout the week, so we have to make changes and improve our railway. We cannot expect our train drivers to volunteer for so many Sundays when our rosters should reflect a modern, seven-day railway for Scotland.

“We have made an offer to our train drivers that would see them get more pay, have less weekend working and have a better work/life balance. Our further commitment to employ up to 100 new train drivers will make our Sunday services robust.

“I sincerely hope we can reach an agreement with our train drivers and our unions on this proposal. A 3.7% total pay offer is substantial and our commitment to make Sundays a part of the working week modernises our railway and is a significant work-life balance benefit for our train drivers.

“We do not want to reduce the number of services on a Sunday or any other day. It is not a decision that we take lightly, but we must be able to give our customers certainty about which services will be running and which ones won’t.

“We really want to get the situation resolved and we remain open to discussing our proposals and options with our unions.”

Regardless of the arguments for and against the drivers refusing to work Sundays, I think it's good from a customer perspective that Abellio are at least being slightly proactive with timetabling for what they can run and advising passengers, rather than the hatchet job they've been attempting to run the past few weeks.

 

[Kite159]

Agreed, at least passengers will be aware that some services won't be run.

 

[me123]

Good that we'll know in advance what's happening.

Bad that, in the 21st Century, 1) passengers still have a vastly inferior service on a Sunday in spite of healthy loads, 2) passengers will see that service decline even further over the next few weeks, 3) Sundays are still not considered part of the working week whilst a service is running. Come on guys (Scotrail, drivers, all involved irrespective of which side you're on) - sort this out!

I would be very concerned if any of the Glasgow-Edinburgh diversionary routes were to be affected by this work - I would expect them to get reasonable priority, wherever possible. I suppose we'll find out tomorrow how bad the damage is.

 

[Techniquest]

This displeases me somewhat, as I'll be in Glasgow on Sunday 2nd August. Less services will mean more of a pain to work things out, taking a lot of detailed planning in advance.

Fingers crossed it can all be sorted!

 

[Blindtraveler]

It just seams a shame to me that the previous opperater managed for 10 years without this sort of thing (other than the A to B DOO Dispute, sorry if im wrong here) and now Abellio come in and do this? I awate the temp TT with interest. That all said I side with staff here as everyone deserves a fare deal.

 

[MCR247]

This displeases me somewhat, as I'll be in Glasgow on Sunday 2nd August. Less services will mean more of a pain to work things out, taking a lot of detailed planning in advance.

Fingers crossed it can all be sorted!

To be fair, surely its better to have a plan thats hard to work out but should be doable on the day rather than have an easy to make plan that will almost certainly fall down at some point due to cancellations? (you just don't know where it'll fall down!)

That said, of course ideally it'd be a normal Sunday service without staff shortages

 

[me123]

The timetable is out. And, I have to say, it's not too bad. I mean, certainly inconvenient, but I think it won't cause chaos. The timetable is here. Rather confusingly, services that aren't listed are running to their normal timetable. It's also hard to find - at the time of writing, it isn't advertised on the front page, and I had to specifically look for it to find it.

Scotrail claim that overall capacity will not best reduced, as they'll be strengthening services to compensate for the reduced frequency. Of note, all services between the main Scottish cities (with the exception of some Edinburgh - Dundee local runs) will operate as normal. This includes all services between Edinburgh and Glasgow (excluding, of course, the routes affected by the Winchburgh Tunnel closure).
___________________

In summary:

AYRSHIRE

Just 1tph (reduced from 2tph) will operate between Ayr and Glasgow Central, with 1tph between Largs and Glasgow Central - unchanged.
Buses will connect Glasgow and/or Ardrossan South Beach to Ardrossan Harbour.
Three trains a day will operate between Ayr and Stranraer only, connecting at Ayr.

INVERCLYDE

Just 1tph between Glasgow and Gourock, as per normal. Wemyss Bay service withdrawn and replaced by buses, running Greenock Central - Wemyss Bay and calling at all stations except Whinhill (no service at this station).

PAISLEY CANAL

1 replacement bus service per hour replacing an hourly train. (Of note, this line has only recently been served by rail on Sunday)

ANNIESLAND via Maryhill

1 replacement bus service per hour replacing an hourly train. (Of note, this line has only recently been served by rail on Sunday)

NEWCRAIGHALL

1 replacement bus service per hour replacing an hourly train.

FIFE

Marked reduction in local service in Fife. From Edinburgh, just 7 trains to Glenrothes via Dunfermline, and 6 trains to Kirkcaldy, four of which continue to Glenrothes.
Most Edinburgh-Dundee trains will be replaced by buses from Kirkcaldy to Dundee, but Edinburgh - Aberdeen and Edinburgh - Inverness trains will run as normal, proving limited service to some stations.

ARGYLE LINE
Essentially normal service. Larkhall trains cancelled and replaced with buses from Hamilton Central.

NORTH CLYDE LINE
Essentially normal service, with no reduction in trains to Edinburgh. Cumbernauld services withdrawn, and replaced by buses between Bellgrove and Cumbernauld. Intermediate stations between Bellgrove and Cumbernauld will not be served by the bus (although these have only recently had a Sunday service).

WEST HIGHLAND LINE
NO services operating. A replacement bus will operate at all stations with road access. Express buses will run between Glasgow and Oban to connect with ferry services.

FAR NORTH/KYLE
One service to Wick per day and two services to Kyle of Lochalsh. Additional replacement buses will augment the service frequency between Inverness and Tain.

Scotrail have also advised of further service reductions:
1tph Glasgow Central to East Kilbride (down from 2tph)
1tph Glasgow Central to Nielston (down from 2tph)
1tph Glasgow Central to Newton via Maxwell Park (normally 1tph via Maxwell Park and 1tph via Queens Park - I'm assuming the latter is cancelled).

As Scotrail have not yet provided timetables for these changes, you'll have to look at RealTime Trains/other similar source to see what's happening. Service changes do appear to be uploaded to RealTime Trains.

 

[AndrewR232]

ARGYLE LINE
Essentially normal service. Larkhall trains cancelled and replaced with buses from Hamilton Central.

Also, only one train per hour is running between Glasgow Central and Motherwell via Bellshill, which continues to Lanark. Trains which terminate at Motherwell on this route have been withdrawn.

 

[fraser158]

In addition to the already changed timetables, the JourneyCheck website is showing 42 additional changes (some cancellations, some alterations).

 

[berneyarms]

Somewhat staggering that this is not highlighted on the Scotrail homepage.

 

[najaB]

Somewhat staggering that this is not highlighted on the Scotrail homepage.

It is, somewhat. However it has been on PIS and PA systems all week so hopefully it won't be a complete surprise to most passengers.

 

[route:oxford]

WEST HIGHLAND LINE
NO services operating. A replacement bus will operate at all stations with road access. Express buses will run between Glasgow and Oban to connect with ferry services.

Ouch

The Scottish school holidays have started, English due to start soon and tourists hitting Scotland from all over the world who will have planned a day-by-day schedule for their holidays.

And there are no services on the West Highland Line on a Sunday...


Any heritage operators fancy running a few timetabled services on behalf of Abelio?

It's not as if it's strike breaking, just a shortage of drivers.

 

[notadriver]

Do you mean rail replacement buses ?

 

[route:oxford]

Do you mean rail replacement buses ?

For many tourists, a trip to Fort William (or Oban) on the WHL isn't about reaching the destination - it's about the train ride on a line with beautiful scenery. Not sitting on a bus.

 

[Blindtraveler]

An opportunitty here, particularly in parts of the highlands, inverclyde and Fife for the bus companys to win market share. As someone who used to travel regularly on a Sunday I always found the joke of a rail service massively over subscribed and precious few alternatives worth considdering were and are available.

Now for some areas the joke rail service has become even less funny and ultimately will hit certain groups hard, not to mention dammage the tourist traid we as a country spend such a lot of money attracting. I am not however having a go at any staff here, I dont know how First handled this one but something has clearly changed with the new management to get us to where we are now.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Point taken, and agreed with about the whole bus replacement thing, esp where the WHL is concerned

 

[mbreckers]

It is, somewhat. However it has been on PIS and PA systems all week so hopefully it won't be a complete surprise to most passengers.

Judging from Twitter most people seem to be unaware that any changes were planned, despite the on-train announcements on some trains, station announcements, posters, and all the news articles about it

 

[181]

Does anyone have any idea of the following?

a) Are all non-Scotrail services are running as normal? I'd presume so, but maybe some use hired-in Scotrail drivers. (I'm thinking in particular of the southbound West Highland sleeper, which I might possibly want to use for a local journey in a couple of weeks' time).

b) The timetable linked to above is specifically dated 5th July, not 'until further notice'. Is the situation likely to be better, worse or just different on subsequent Sundays, or do we just have to wait and see?

There doesn't seem to be any information on NRE (although if you use the journey planner it shows the revised service for today -- this does include the West Highland sleeper. It still shows a normal service for next Sunday).

 

[notadriver]

It seems there were two ways to deal with this. Pay extra to entice staff to work Sunday's or reduce costs and cut services.

 

[me123]

Does anyone have any idea of the following?

a) Are all non-Scotrail services are running as normal? I'd presume so, but maybe some use hired-in Scotrail drivers. (I'm thinking in particular of the southbound West Highland sleeper, which I might possibly want to use for a local journey in a couple of weeks' time).

Yes. This is a Scotrail issue. All other operators are not affected by this action (although, of course, they may have their own issues, or be affected by engineering work, so as always check before you travel!).

b) The timetable linked to above is specifically dated 5th July, not 'until further notice'. Is the situation likely to be better, worse or just different on subsequent Sundays, or do we just have to wait and see?

It's being made to sound like a reasonably long term thing. Realtime trains appear to have services back to normal next week, but I would assume that this won't be sorted in a week, and to assume the same timetable will be in operation. Any extra is therefore a bonus

There doesn't seem to be any information on NRE (although if you use the journey planner it shows the revised service for today -- this does include the West Highland sleeper. It still shows a normal service for next Sunday).

Sleepers are now in their own franchise, operated by Serco, hence are not affected by this work.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Judging from Twitter most people seem to be unaware that any changes were planned, despite the on-train announcements on some trains, station announcements, posters, and all the news articles about it

I don't really understand. It's been very well broadcast, in fact. There was information at Edinburgh on Friday. It's been a pretty big news story up here on "local" (i.e., Scottish national) news. I can't really see what more could have been done.

You know, aside from actually broadcasting the information on the front page of your website Scotrail(!) which is a glaring omission, but still it's been pretty obvious.

 

[berneyarms]

I don't really understand. It's been very well broadcast, in fact. There was information at Edinburgh on Friday. It's been a pretty big news story up here on "local" (i.e., Scottish national) news. I can't really see what more could have been done.

You know, aside from actually broadcasting the information on the front page of your website Scotrail(!) which is a glaring omission, but still it's been pretty obvious.

With respect, from experience there are many people who do not watch news or read papers. Also, most tourists would be unaware of this, particularly with one of the prime tourist routes not having any trains whatsoever.

I would expect however the homepage of the website to have a big notice highlighting this.

It's kind of disrespectful to customers not to do so. In fact, as I said above, it is somewhat staggering.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I would say that other TOCs services will be especially well used, Im particularly referring to VTECs Aberdeen runs which stop throughFIFE AND CAN BE UNPLEASENT ANYWAY ON A sun Afternoon.

 

[cf111]

FAR NORTH/KYLE
One service to Wick per day and two services to Kyle of Lochalsh. Additional replacement buses will augment the service frequency between Inverness and Tain. .

11:58 Wick to Inverness due 16:16
This train will be cancelled.
This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

17:54 Inverness to Wick due 22:17
This train will be terminated at Lairg.
This train will no longer call at Rogart, Golspie, Brora, Helmsdale, Kildonan, Kinbrace, Forsinard, Altnabreac, Scotscalder, Georgemas Junction (from Inverness at 21:35), Thurso, Georgemas Junction (towards Wick at 22:00) and Wick.
This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

That went well...

 

[AndrewR232]

That went well...

I wonder what the sentence "We want to give you certainty that the trains we say are going to run will actually run." actually means...

 

[Techniquest]

I really was hoping that pay deals etc were going to have been done by now, still got my fingers crossed it is all sorted before I arrive on 2nd August.

Doesn't look like it will be too bad, just going to make it a bit awkward to shack attack after all but never mind.

 

[Blindtraveler]

The X99 bus will have done well today through the far north then

 

[cf111]

The X99 bus will have done well today through the far north then

It's now at the point that I will pay the extra to take the bus ahead of the train between Inverness and Thurso. The time saved and the increased reliability is worth it. To be honest it's more of a time thing.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Your not alone here I dont think - seats are coming hard to come by on many now with the 14:40 from Inverness being particularly bad. Without going too badly off topic and whilst Im aware many buses are subsidised isnt it about time Stagecoach took this chaotic Sunday goldmine seriusly and ran another journey?

 

[455driver]

The reason for the unavailability of train drivers is that Sunday rail services in Scotland are partly dependent on voluntary cover being provided by train drivers. The number of train drivers volunteering for Sunday work has declined steeply in recent days due to ongoing pay negotiations, resulting in a reduction of trains on Sundays.

ScotRail has tabled an offer which would see train drivers receive a 2.5% pay rise and, in addition, a one-off £500 bonus payment for ensuring that Sunday services are covered. Added together, this amounts to a 3.7% offer for 2015-16. This offer has not been accepted yet.

ScotRail has also proposed a solution to the volunteering on Sundays issue by committing to create up to 100 more jobs in Scotland for new train drivers – almost an extra 10% increase in current train driver numbers. This will mean that Sunday train services are robust in the future and not dependent on train drivers’ volunteering.

So basically 3.7% (a very good offer indeed) but they will be giving up their right to not work Sundays (suddenly a very poor deal), its a pity it reads as if its just the staff being greedy rather than stating clearly the true reasons (changes to terms and conditions AGAIN) but then that wouldn't do would it! :roll:

 

[scotraildriver]

So basically 3.7% (a very good offer indeed) but they will be giving up their right to not work Sundays (suddenly a very poor deal), its a pity it reads as if its just the staff being greedy rather than stating clearly the true reasons (changes to terms and conditions AGAIN) but then that wouldn't do would it! :roll:

Thanks for that support, I've had some terrible grief from punters today. Over the last couple of years we have had a constant increase in rostered Sundays to the point we are at every Second Sunday being worked. As a result booked Sundays are now worth roughly 3.3k per year. Therefore to take that into the working week would require a rise of at least that, or approx 13%. Can you imagine the press/public response???? It's a sticky wicket to resolve.

 

[Dansomedan]

Should also be noted that paytalks with Conducters/Guards havent even started yet and they also work 4/6 with Sundays as overtime, so even if the Drivers do accept sunday as the working week, there would still be cancelations if the guards dont agree to change T&C. Fun times ahead...