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Now more than 600 trains are axed from Saturday timetables

By Michael Blackley Scottish Political Editor

MORE than 600 ScotRail services will be axed on Saturdays from this weekend, the nationalised operator has confirmed.

ScotRail yesterday published full details of its temporary timetable for Saturdays in response to driver shortages.

Around 639 of the 2,059 services which normally operate on a Saturday will be cancelled, including many latenight trains.

It will be a devastating blow to passengers looking to attend events, leisure venues, pubs and restaurants on a day when trains are normally packed with shoppers and revellers.

The latest changes come after a temporary weekday timetable was introduced, resulting in some of the biggest stations in the country being deserted in the evenings with services grinding to a halt hours earlier than normal.

Details of changes to Sunday services have still not been published.

But the Saturday timetable alterations released yesterday include a reduction in services on the busiest train line in the country, between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley, with the last service now departing at 10.15pm instead of 11.45pm.

The last train from Edinburgh to Perth on a Saturday will be at 7.42pm, instead of 11.18pm, while the last service between the capital and Dundee will be 8.03pm, instead of 11.01pm.

Saturday services from Glasgow are also badly affected, with the last train to Largs now leaving at 7.45pm, three-and-a-half hours earlier than normal, while the last train to Ayr departs at 10pm instead of 11.30pm.

Passengers wanting to travel from Glasgow to Aberdeen on a Saturday will now need to catch a train by 6.41pm, rather than 9.40pm previously; the last train from Edinburgh to Aberdeen is 5.32pm instead of 9.30pm.

A ScotRail spokesman said: ‘On a normal Saturday in the May 2022 timetable, 2,059 services operate. Around 69 per cent of that number will operate from this Saturday.’

The cuts have been introduced because train drivers are refusing to work on rest days, in reaction to a ‘derisory’ pay offer. The chaos could get even worse after the RMT union voted for industrial action across the UK.

The latest timetable changes come after representatives of more than 25,000 firms said service cuts would undermine the pandemic recovery.

The Scottish Chambers of Commerce, the Scottish Tourism Alliance, the Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Financial Enterprise and the Institute of Directors Scotland called for an ‘immediate resolution’.

In an open letter they said: ‘Many of these businesses and city centre hubs, the lifeblood of our economy, are just beginning to emerge from the long and destabilising impact of the Covid pandemic and this latest disruption will undoubtedly take a heavy toll.

‘The collective focus must be on accelerating economic recovery and, with many major sports events, festivals and the high tourist season nearly upon us, this impasse threatens Scotland’s ability to attract visitors at a time when they are most needed.’

They added the climate crisis should ‘require us to be doing everything possible to encourage more passengers to use public transport’.

Graham Simpson, Scottish Conservative transport spokesman, said: ‘This revised weekend timetable will come as a hammer blow to Scotland’s hospitality and events sector.

‘The far earlier last train times will make it impossible for many of those going to pubs, restaurants, gigs and shows to get home by train after a night out.

‘SNP ministers can’t simply wring their hands; they nationalised ScotRail so the onus is on them to thrash out a resolution... as a matter of urgency.’

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