Train passengers in Highland Perthshire are being urged to plan their journeys in advance over the Christmas period with services severely impacted by the latest rounds of strike action.
The strike action from RMT members of Network Rail in Scotland will have a major impact on train operators as staff walk out at 6pm on Saturday 24th December and return on Tuesday 27th.
ScotRail Festive Train Services
- Christmas Eve (Saturday, 24th December) – services will run as normal until around 1500 when they will begin to wind down to allow for critical engineering works. No train services will start after 1800 (except for the 1815 Cumbernauld – Motherwell) but some trains will still be in transit.
- Christmas Day (Sunday, 25th December) – ScotRail does not operate services on Christmas Day.
- Boxing Day (Monday, 26th December) – no services will operate due to use of contingent Network Rail staff and the prioritisation of critical engineering works. ScotRail normally operates a reduced service across the Strathclyde region.
- Tuesday, 27th December – a later start-up of services. Most services on that day will start around 0800, but in some parts of the country, such as Stirling, there will be no trains running until 1700. This is due to the shift start times of Network Rail signallers.
- Services are due to operate as per the normal timetable between Wednesday, 28 December and Friday, 30 December.
- New Year’s Eve (Saturday, 31st December) – services will stop earlier than normal for usual Hogmanay closedown.
You can find the detailed timetable for ScotRail services over the festive period at https://www.scotrail.co.uk/about-scotrail/news/2022-christmas-and-new-year-train-times
Scotrail are still working on the plan for the 3rd and 4th and the 6th and 7th. Updates on how the service will be affected can be found at https://www.scotrail.co.uk/plan-your-journey/passenger-disruption/industrial-action
LNER Festive Train Services
- Christmas Eve (Saturday 24th December) – LNER will be running an extremely limited service with the last southbound train from Edinburgh leaving at 8am and the last Train heading to Edinburgh leaving London at 11am.
- No trains will run on Christmas Day (Sunday 25th December) or on Boxing Day (Monday 26th December)
- Tuesday 27th December will see a reduced service starting considerably later than normal in the morning.
- LNER will run an amended timetable between Wednesday 28th December and Monday 2nd of January due to planned engineering work
- A reduced timetable will be run by LNER on Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th of January and Friday 6th and Saturday 7th
A detailed breakdown of LNER changes on these days and the reduced timetable can be found at https://www.lner.co.uk/travel-information/Industrial-action/
ScotRail are reminding everyone that their service will be winding down at 3pm on Christmas Eve meaning those travelling to football games across the country will need to plan their journey home in advance.
The latest travel information for ScotRail services can be found at https://www.scotrail.co.uk/ with information on LNER services available at https://www.lner.co.uk/