John Swinney responds to confirmation that next week’s planned rail strike has been suspended.

Responding to confirmation that next week’s planned rail strike has been suspended, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said:

“This is welcome news for passengers who were facing widespread cancellations over the Bank Holiday Weekend and next Tuesday. It is important that lessons are learned from this to reduce the likelihood of future action and ensure that passengers and businesses can plan ahead with confidence.

“I would like to thank everyone who put such considerable effort into making major contingency plans, especially ScotRail who had the painstaking task of developing and uploading emergency timetables at short notice and prioritising routes based on demand and the staff expertise and experience available, and the bus industry who had offered to put on extra services.

“What was encouraging about the experience was the willingness of everyone to work together to develop credible plans and raise awareness of what promised to be a damaging period of travel disruption.”