TRAVELLERS on the Borders Railway are being warned by ScotRail bosses to plan ahead.

Thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) employed by Network Rail will walk out from 6pm on Christmas Eve until 6am on December 27 in a dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.

On Christmas Eve the last train will leave Edinburgh Waverley for Tweedbank at 5.44pm.

The last train will leave Tweedbank for Edinburgh Waverley at 5.19pm.

There are no services on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

On Tuesday December 27 there will be no services before 7.15am due to signal boxes across the country opening at different times throughout the day following strike action by RMT members of Network Rail.

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Customer retail systems are being updated covering the coming days to reflect the service alterations.

Travellers should check their journey before travel by using ScotRail’s Journey Planner or the ScotRail app.

Services are due to follow the normal timetable between December 28 and 30 but, on Hogmanay, services will stop earlier than usual.

And more rail misery is to follow in 2023. The RMT has also announced strike plans for January 3 and 4, as well as January 6 and 7.

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Those strike dates were announced after talks between RMT leader Mick Lynch and Rail Minister Hew Merriman failed last week, with negotiations between the two sides remaining deadlocked.

ScotRail are still working through their train plans for January 3-4 and 6-7 strike days, and will provide an update when this information is available.

David Simpson, ScotRail’s service delivery director, said the strike would mean “significant disruption” with last trains earlier than usual on Christmas Eve, no Boxing Day services, and later first trains on December 27.

“It’s really disappointing to see more disruption across the whole Great Britain rail network as a result of the dispute between Network Rail and the RMT at a time when we need to be encouraging more people back to the railway,” he said.

“We know this is really frustrating for everyone impacted and we’re urging customers to plan ahead and check their entire journey in advance.”