RAIL passengers in Inverclyde are facing the prospect of almost a full week of travel misery as services look set to grind to a halt for FIVE DAYS.

As it stands there will be no trains in the district from today until Saturday, as the local network is brought to a complete standstill by an escalation of strike action.

There will be no services on either the Gourock or Wemyss Bay lines, with commuters and other long-suffering passengers being asked to make other arrangements instead.

The walkout is by RMT members of Network Rail.

Although the dispute does not involve ScotRail staff it stops the operator from running services, as the RMT action involves Network Rail staff in Scotland. 

The union members have been voting on whether to accept a pay offer and the ballot closed yesterday.

Even if strike action is called off after the vote result is announced, bosses say that it would take the rail industry 'at least 48 hours' to recover and restore a normal service, meaning disruption is inevitable.

The planned strike covers today, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and will be in effect across the whole railway network.

ScotRail says it will only be running a reduced number of routes, similar to the service level which was provided during previous strike action.

While Thursday is not included in the list of strike days, there will still be no local services - as Network Rail says it will not be able to make all infrastructure available on that day.

Liam Sumpter, route director for Network Rail Scotland, said: “We understand the impact this strike action will have and we are working hard to keep as many passengers as possible moving during the next phase of RMT industrial action.

“We remain committed to working with the RMT to find a solution to this dispute and avert disruption at this important time of the year, but we also need to find a pay deal that is fair on the taxpayers who fund our railway."