Rail travellers in Scotland in disruption warning due to strikes

Major rail disruption is also expected in the first week of January

Rail passengers in Scotland are being warned that journeys over the Christmas period will be hit by strike action.

ScotRail says its services will wind down from 15:00 on Christmas Eve, ahead of the strike by RMT members of Network Rail beginning at 18:00.

There will be no trains on Boxing Day and services will start later on 27 December.

Major disruption to both ScotRail and cross-border services is also expected in the first week of January.

Train drivers across 15 rail companies - including TransPennine Express and Avanti West Coast - are planning to strike on 5 January.

RMT members of Network Rail, which maintains the rails, signals and stations, plan further strikes on 3-4 and 6-7 January.

The strikes are part of a long-running dispute over pay, job security and conditions.

• Rail passengers told to avoid Christmas Eve travel

• The train strike days in December and January

Network Rail has previously warned passengers to avoid travel on Christmas Eve when further strike action by RMT members is due to start.

The walkout is scheduled to end at 06:00 on 27 December.

The full details of the impact on ScotRail services are:

• Christmas Eve: Services will run as normal until around 15:00 when they will begin to wind down to allow for critical engineering works. No train services will start after 18:00, except for the 18:15 Cumbernauld to Motherwell, but some trains will still be in transit. The last trains on the main service between Glasgow and Edinburgh will leave before 16:00.

• Christmas Day: ScotRail does not operate services on Christmas Day.

• Boxing Day: 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.

• 27 December: Most services on that day will start around 08:00, but in some parts of the country, such as Stirling, there will be no trains running until 17:00. This is due to the shift start times of Network Rail signallers.

• New Year's Eve: Services will stop earlier than normal for usual Hogmanay closedown.

David Simpson, ScotRail's service delivery director, said:  "It's really disappointing to see more disruption across the whole Great Britain rail network as a result of the dispute between Network Rail and the RMT at a time when we need to be encouraging more people back to the railway.

He added: "We know this is really frustrating for everyone impacted and we're urging customers to plan ahead and check their entire journey in advance."