A trade union boss has today written to Nicola Sturgeon demanding commitments to low fares and retaining station staff when Scotland’s rail service returns to public ownership.

TSSA Leader, Manuel Cortes, says in a letter to the First Minister that it is “utterly wrong-headed to think that cutting staff means more efficiency”.

He says that numbers are already stretched and further cuts will mean that short-notice cancellations become the norm.

“We need station and platform staff to help passengers with disabilities, parents with pushchairs, and elderly passengers on and off the train. More staff means a better railway for everyone,” he says.

Mr Cortes points out the need for people to be using public transport to reduce carbon emissions and questions the wisdom of raising fares.

“We need to make it easier for people to take the train.”

He adds: “Public ownership is a golden opportunity to bring ticket prices down, as we’ll no longer need to pay shareholder dividends out of railway money.

“I was amazed that earlier this month the Scottish Government announced fare rises of 3.8% from 24 January 2022. To reach our climate change targets we need to make our railway the appealing, better option for everyone and that means keeping ticket prices down so everyone can afford it.”

He has appealed for a reversal of plans to close ticket office, saying such staff are vital to getting people to use trains.

“Franchise exercises are a massive waste of public money,” he says. “That’s money that would be better spent investing in new rolling stock or keeping ticket prices low.

“If the last five years under Abellio have shown anything it’s that private is not better.

“If ScotRail were able to take advantage of the Scottish government’s borrowing power and make plans for 20 or 30 years rather than the five to eight years of a franchise deal they could make meaningful long-term investments in good quality rolling stock and railway infrastructure. “

ScotRail issues Covid timetable changes

ScotRail will make temporary timetable changes from next week due to the continued disruption caused by the spread of coronavirus among staff.  

Staff absences have resulted in a number of services being cancelled or amended. 

In order to provide customers with a level of certainty about which services are running in the coming weeks, ScotRail will make temporary changes to its timetable from Tuesday, 4 January 2022. 

Timetable changes are mainly focused across the central belt - with changes spread out across the day where possible to minimise the impact on customers’ journeys – and will operate Monday to Friday until Tuesday, 28 January 2022.  

Routes affected by the timetable revision include:  

• Glasgow Central – Neilston / Newton
• Glasgow Central – East Kilbride
• Glasgow Central – Lanark 
• Glasgow Central – Ayrshire / Inverclyde / Stranraer 
• Glasgow Central – Edinburgh Waverley via Shotts
• Glasgow Queen Street – Edinburgh Waverley via Airdrie & Bathgate
• Glasgow Queen Street – Edinburgh Waverley via Cumbernauld & Falkirk Grahamston 
• Glasgow Queen Street / Edinburgh Waverley – Stirling / Dunblane / Alloa 
• Glasgow Queen Street – Anniesland via Maryhill 
• Edinburgh Waverley – Dunbar / North Berwick 
• Edinburgh Waverley – Fife 
• Edinburgh Waverley – Newcraighall / Tweedbank 

A full list of the changes can be found on the ScotRail website at scotrail.co.uk/timetable-update

Where services have been cancelled, customers may be entitled to a refund on their ticket. 

The train operator is also urging anyone travelling on Scotland’s Railway to stay safe by continuing to follow Scottish Government guidelines.   

This includes maintaining good hand hygiene and the mandatory wearing of a face covering for the entirety of their journey, which includes on trains and in stations – both enclosed and open-air platforms. Customers are also asked to take a lateral flow test before travelling.