Hospitality venues hit with cancellations ahead of rail strike

Hospitality businesses have been hit with cancelled bookings ahead of the national rail strike next week.

The Moor of Rannoch Restaurant and Rooms in the Scottish Highlands tweeted that it had seen "mass cancellations" on strike days.

The venue wrote: "Due to RMT Industrial action the railways across the UK will effectively grind to a halt between 21st & 26th June.

"70% of our guests usually arrive/depart by train, unfortunately we have lost almost all of our bookings that week.

"Just another challenge of running a hospitality business in a remote location."

The restaurant and hotel said it had rooms available and space for dinner reservations throughout next week.

Network Rail said that only around half of Britain's rail network will be open on strike days on 21, 23 and 25 June with a "very limited" service running on lines open from around 7:30am until 18:30pm.

The network will reopen on 22, 24 and 26 June but passengers are warned to expect disruption.

The Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) said it was already aware of hotel and restaurant bookings being cancelled.

Managing director Colin Wilkinson urged the UK and Scottish governments to intervene. "Hospitality businesses cannot afford to lose any more trade, particularly as we approach the crucial summer season," he said.

Members of the RMT Union across Network Rail and 15 train operating companies voted in favour of strike action in a dispute over pay, jobs, and staff safety.

Hospitality industry representatives previously warned the strike could impact staff and customer safety with many services not running into the evening.

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