Cross-border services in Scotland will be affected after a new round of strikes was announced by the train drivers' union.

The Aslef union is in dispute with 15 train companies over pay, including Avanti West Coast which operates services from Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central to London Euston.

Also affected is TransPennine, which operates trains between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley and Manchester Airport, as well as between Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley and Liverpool Lime Street to Glasgow Central.

The dispute has been ongoing for 18 months, with 14 one-day walkouts called in that time.

A week of strikes, staggered between companies, took place from Saturday 2 December to Saturday 9 December 2023.

Drivers will strike on TransPennine on January 31 and on Avanti West Coast on Saturday February 3.

Read More: Clyde workers hail 'significant victory" in pay dispute

The drivers will also refuse to work overtime from Monday 29 January until Tuesday 6 February.

Aslef’s general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it has now been a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport. It’s clear they do not want to resolve this dispute.

 “Many of our members have now not had a single penny increase to their pay in half a decade, during which inflation soared and with it the cost of living. Train drivers didn’t even ask for an increase during the Covid-19 pandemic when they worked throughout as key workers, risking their lives to allow NHS and other workers to travel.

“The government has now tried their old trick of changing the rules when they can’t win and brought in Minimum Service Levels legislation. But this new law, as we told officials during the consultation period, won’t ease industrial strife. It will likely just make it worse. 

“There’s no excuse. The government and train operating companies must come to the table with a realistic offer so we can end this dispute and work together to ensure the future of our railways.”

A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group said: “Nobody wins when strikes impact lives and livelihoods, and they're particularly difficult to justify at a time when taxpayers are continuing to contribute an extra £54m a week to keep services running post covid.

“Despite the railway's huge financial challenge, drivers have been made an offer which would take base salaries to nearly £65,000 for a four day week without overtime - that is well above the national average and significantly more than many of our passengers that have no option to work from home are paid. Instead of staging more damaging industrial action, we call on the ASLEF leadership to work with us to resolve this dispute and deliver a fair deal which both rewards our people, and makes the changes needed to make services more reliable.”