Rail firm forks out thousands on taxis

Shift workers are used to out-of-hours calls from their employer to tell them of a last minute change, but some train drivers prefer their bosses to send taxis with their rescheduled rotas.

Costs to ScotRail for taxis are running into thousands of pounds, with hundreds of journeys being made to deliver rotas by hand. They are a result of refusals by drivers to give home phone numbers to their employer. The bizarre practice is revealed in a ScotRail bulletin that also outlines other quirky customs.

ScotRail's drivers receive a £10 bonus, known as the Corkerhill allowance, a payment agreed by British Rail to cover time lost walking from Corkerhill when a driver was needed at another Glasgow station 30 minutes' walk away.

The bulletin, written by David McPherson, ScotRail's head of personnel, details "flexibility initiatives" to do away with practices that the train operator said were cumbersome, expensive and outdated, it was reported in the Herald newspaper last night.

In return for drivers accepting the initiatives, they will get £1,200 a year on top of a no-strings 3% - worth £700 - on basic salary.

ScotRail is in a long-running pay dispute with drivers and wants to introduce"common-sense" practices, for example, drivers calling in to check when they are next on duty, and returning to work after a 30-minute medical check-up instead of taking the day off.

Drivers' unions have hit back, saying members at Scot-Rail should be given mobile phones, in line with other rail companies, and should get pay parity with other regions.

The dispute, with an overtime ban and refusal to work rest days, has disrupted some services and forced the use of a reduced timetable cutting weekday services by 25%.