ScotRail timetable returns to normal after pay row

Reduced services have been running since July

The train timetable in Scotland has returned to normal after the resolution of a pay row.

ScotRail had been running a reduced service since July.

The change will mean many more services - especially in the evenings. But there are still fewer services on some routes than before the Covid pandemic.

Customers are advised to check the timetable online.

ScotRail warned that despite the extra services, some trains may not be at the times customers have got used to in recent weeks, or connections may be different.

Trains will run every 15 minutes on the main Glasgow to Edinburgh service at peak times.

Temporary timetable

The pay row was resolved after a 4.5% wage increase was accepted by the drivers' union ASLEF almost two weeks ago.

Drivers had been declining overtime and rest day working although there was no industrial action by the union itself.

This led to a large number of last-minute cancellations in early July.

ScotRail then introduced a temporary timetable with fewer services to try to offer customers more reliability.

After the dispute was settled, ScotRail had more work to do before the normal timetable could be brought back.

It had to check how many drivers might be available for overtime, draw up new rotas and update the timetable.

The company says it is committed to reducing its dependence on overtime by drivers but this will take time.

About 250 new drivers have been recruited since ScotRail was brought back into public ownership by the Scottish government in April 2022.

A further 160 a year are being recruited.

However, 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. Notably, trains still run between Glasgow and Edinburgh every half hour for much of the daytime - not every 15 minutes.

When the return to the regular timetable was launched, Mark Ilderton, ScotRail's service delivery director, said: "We are delighted to confirm that our full timetable will return on Monday.

"We have been working round the clock to deliver this in a very short space of time because we know how important a full service is to our customers.

"It’s been a difficult few months for our customers and staff, and we thank everybody for their patience."

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.

The hope was the scheme would lead to a big enough rise in passenger numbers to allow it to pay for itself.

The rise in passenger numbers was insufficient and the government has decided to stop paying for the pilot.