ScotRail has introduced a temporary timetable in a bid to prevent disruption to services due to a pay dispute with staff.
The rail operator will cut around 600 services from Wednesday in a bid to maintain “safety and reliability” after four unions rejected a pay offer last week.
It comes two years after a similar row led to the shutdown of much of Scotland’s rail network over the summer months.
ScotRail said around 1,660 trains would run from Monday to Saturday as part of the interim measures.
They include routes between Edinburgh and Glasgow, while routes north of the central belt will also be significantly reduced.
ScotRail’s director of service delivery, Mark Ilderton, urged passengers to check their journey before departure.
“We deeply apologize to customers for the service disruption,” he said.
“We operate services that the vast majority of customers use and continue to use all available trains in our fleet so that customers can continue to travel.
“We want to resolve the wage dispute with the union and remain fully committed to further discussions.”
Train drivers’ union Aslef told ScotRail on Friday it was considering a vote on strikes against the collective in a pay dispute.
Meanwhile, a number of drivers have refused to do Sunday shifts and extra overtime, impacting services.
Unite, the RMT and the TSSA also rejected a pay rise offer put forward by ScotRail on Friday.
ScotRail chief executive Joanne Maguire said lessons had been learned from previous strikes and the timetable in place was the “most reliable” possible with current staffing levels.
She added that the operator is working to ensure that the impasse between the unions is bridged.
But she denied that ScotRail was relying too heavily on rest day work.
Ms Maguire said: “The fact that this timetable has 100 more services a day than we had two years ago shows progress and proves that we are less reliant on working on rest days.
“We are working really hard to negotiate a pay deal that is fair to our employees but still gives taxpayers value for money.”
“Economic Vandalism”
This resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of services and brought the rail network to a standstill in large parts of the country.
The rail operator said it is trying to hire 160 new drivers to boost reliability.
But Aslef accused the Scottish Government of failing to address driver shortages and pay.
Scottish union organizer Kevin Lindsay said: “Rather than cutting timetables in an economic vandalism that will affect towns across Scotland and rail passengers in Scotland, ScotRail and the Scottish Government need to get serious about pay and get it fast. back to the negotiating table with a serious and credible offer.
“The Scottish Government and ScotRail must quickly understand that investing in our railways involves investing in their most valuable resource, their workers.
“We urge them to come back to us with an offer that is serious and that treats our members fairly and with the respect they deserve.”
Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Douglas Lumsden said the timetable was a “blow” to rail passengers.
“The service cuts will have a big impact on people getting to and from work, as well as those wanting to travel by train during the school summer holidays,” he said.
“The SNP cannot hide behind ScotRail and must take responsibility for failing to resolve this situation before it reached this point.
He added: “With major sporting events and music festivals coming up, it is essential that John Swinney and his SNP colleagues get to grips with this row before it deeply damages the Scottish economy.”
Transport Scotland said train scheduling and staff rotation were an operational matter for ScotRail, but expected any timetable to provide the “best reliability and availability” for passengers.
The spokeswoman added: “We recognize the rail unions’ desire to negotiate a fair settlement for their members.
“As a public body and employer, ScotRail has the responsibility and ability to negotiate within public sector pay metrics.
“However, as the rail unions have been advised, any offer beyond these requirements requires approval by the Scottish Government at a higher level following an appropriate process.”
She said Transport Scotland would support rail unions to continue discussions with ScotRail to reach a “mutually acceptable outcome” as soon as possible.