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| Neil welcomes progress in Airdrie-Bathgate dispute | |
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Central Scotland SNP MSP Alex Neil has welcomed the news that representatives from the RMT and First Scotrail have reached a provisional agreement over the safety dispute on the new Airdrie-Bathgate line. First Scotrail had proposed to use drivers to open and close doors on the trains running on the new Glasgow-Edinburgh via Airdrie and Bathgate from December. The proposal sparked safety concerns from the union, but it appears further strikes have been averted after the "memorandum of understanding" was agreed last week. Mr Neil hopes that the RMT Executive will ratify the agreement to see an end to the issue: "With the new service due to start in December the sooner issues like these are settled the better. I am glad that the RMT union and First Scotrail have come to an outline agreement and I would encourage the RMT executive to endorse it. "This has been a long running dispute and further strikes appeared to be a very real prospect so I am sure passengers will be glad the dispute is nearing a settlement. "The new service through Airdrie and Bathgate will provide a greater platform for Airdrie to compete in the labour market and I hope it will allow inward investment to the town. "It was critical that this dispute was resolved to allow the service to get off to a good start." |
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