Strike to halt all CrossCountry Scottish trains

All CrossCountry trains in Scotland will be cancelled on Sunday in the first of a series of strikes that also threaten Christmas services.

CrossCountry operates cross-Border services to the Midlands and south west England

The operator said none of its trains would run north of York, affecting services to and from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Aberdeen on the east coast main line.

They provide cross-Border services to the Midlands and the south-west England, including Britain's longest rail journey between Aberdeen and Penzance.

Further strikes by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) have been called for Sunday 26 November, Saturday 9-Sunday 10 December, Christmas Eve and Hogmanay.

The RMT said the dispute among train managers and senior conductors - or train guards - was over "abuse of rostering and Sunday working".

It accused Arriva, which runs the firm, of "wrecking" talks this week

General secretary Mick Cash said: “It is disgraceful that the management at Arriva effectively sabotaged talks on Wednesday that were making progress towards a settlement to this dispute.

"Our members are standing up for the principles of a decent work life balance and against the abuse of rostering and Sunday working by a management that is out of control."

CrossCountry said Sunday's walkout would "significantly" affect CrossCountry train services.

It said it would operate a reduced service between 9am and 7pm using some longer trains.

It said: "With fewer trains available we expect all our services, and any replacement bus services, to be very busy."