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Following the resolution of a pay row, the train timetable in Scotland has returned to normal. ScotRail had been running a reduced service since July, resulting in fewer services on some routes than before the Covid pandemic. Customers are advised to check the timetable online, as some trains may not be at the times they have got used to in recent weeks, or connections may be different.
The pay row was resolved after a 4.5% wage increase was accepted by the drivers’ union ASLEF almost two weeks ago. The union members had been declining overtime and rest day working, which resulted in a large number of last-minute cancellations in early July. ScotRail introduced a temporary timetable with fewer services to try to offer customers more reliability after the dispute was settled. However, it had more work to do before the normal timetable could be brought back.
About 250 new drivers have been recruited since ScotRail was brought back into public ownership by the Scottish government in April 2022, with a further 160 being recruited annually. Their training takes time, and some of the new drivers will replace others who have left. Some routes still have less frequent services than before the pandemic, with trains continuing to run between Glasgow and Edinburgh every half hour for much of the daytime instead of every 15 minutes.
When the return to the regular timetable was launched, Mark Ilderton, ScotRail’s service delivery director, expressed his delight at the news, saying they had been working around the clock to deliver this in a very short time because they know how crucial a full service is to their customers. The restored timetable comes a week after the reintroduction of peak time fares, although the two are unconnected. Peak fares were abolished as an experiment through a project funded by the Scottish government, with the hope that it would lead to a big enough rise in passenger numbers to allow it to pay for itself. However, the rise in passenger numbers was insufficient, and the government has decided to stop paying for the pilot
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