ScotRail has been unable to confirm whether planned extra services for the Open at Royal Troon will go ahead amid an ongoing industrial dispute.
Members of the train drivers' union, ASLEF, are currently working to their contracted hours with no overtime after rejecting a pay offer from the operator.
The deal, which was also rejected by Unite, the RMT and TSSA would have covered the next three years to April 2027 and involved a 2% pay rise each April and 1% the following January.
To operate a normal timetable, ScotRail requires rest day working and overtime and as a result has introduced a temporary reduced timetable.
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The 152nd Open Championship is being held at Royal Troon from July 14 to 21, with the tournament running from the 18th to 21st.
On its website ScotRail promises "extra trains to get you to and from Troon during the event", but the national rail operator was unable to confirm these would be going ahead when approached by The Herald.
Asked if the plan for extra services was still in place in light of the ASLEF action a spokesperson said: "We’re working on plans to support The Open at Royal Troon as best we can, and will update customers in the next couple of days."
Kevin Lindsay, ASLEF's Scottish organiser said: "ScotRail and the Scottish Government must get serious about pay and urgently get back round the negotiating table with a serious and credible offer.
“The Scottish Government is currently taking a fantasy land approach to industrial relations on our railways.
"We met the First Minister, John Swinney on the 28 May and told him then that the offer being made to our members was completely unacceptable and sadly, ScotRail have parroted this same offer ever since.”
The RMT, which has also rejected the pay offer, has announced it will ballot its members on strike action and action short of a strike.
General secretary Mick Lynch said: "It is ludicrous that the MSPs ultimately responsible for running these services were taking bumper pay rises whilst subjecting workers to significant hardship during a cost-of-living crisis."
The RMT ballot will open on Thursday 18th July 2024 and will close on Thursday 8th August 2024.
A spokesperson for Transport Scotland said: "While train planning and staff rotas are operational matters for ScotRail, we fully expect any timetable to give the best reliability and availability for passengers and that changes are communicated well in advance to enable effective journey planning.
“We acknowledge the desire of rail unions to negotiate a fair settlement for their members.
“ScotRail, as a public body and the employer, has responsibility and the ability to negotiate within the limits of public sector pay metrics. However, as rail unions have been made aware, any offer beyond these requires Scottish Government approval at senior level following the appropriate process.
"We would encourage rail unions to continue meaningful dialogue with ScotRail, so that a mutually agreeable outcome can be reached as soon as possible.”
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