Scotrail Hits Best Performance In Two Years

4 July 2017, 06:20 | Updated: 4 July 2017, 06:21

ScotRail achieved its best performance in more than two years last week as around 95% of trains arrived within five minutes of their scheduled time.

A total of 95.4% of services hit the industry performance target between Sunday June 25 and Saturday July 1, the highest since the Dutch parent firm Abellio took on the 10-year franchise for the country's trains in April 2015.

However, Labour said more detailed data showing fewer than half of trains arrived on time at 19 stations across Scotland is "frankly unacceptable''.

An analysis of 73 terminal stations between May 28 and June 24 found trains at around three-quarters were on time 50% of the time or more, while the remainder were not.

The worst performing of these stations was Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, which had only 26% of services arriving on time, while Alloa was the best with 91% of trains arriving punctually.

Scottish Labour transport spokesman Neil Bibby said: "These latest results may have a positive headline figure, but the devil is always in the detail.

"The fact that fewer than half of services arrive on time at 19 stations is quite frankly unacceptable.

"Public satisfaction with ScotRail is at a 14-year low and passengers are losing patience with Transport Minister Humza Yousaf's failure to act. They are fed up with overcrowded, delayed and cancelled trains.

"Humza Yousaf cannot allow a repeat of the chaos that blighted the rail network last autumn and winter, and that means getting on top of performance when weather is better during the summer months.''

The railway firm faced heavy criticism for late and cancelled trains last year amid ongoing major improvement works, with campaigners calling for Abellio to be stripped of the franchise.

Transport Scotland ordered the ScotRail Alliance to put an performance improvement plan in place last September after performance slipped below a contracted threshold, which it rose above in March.

Perry Ramsey, operations director at the ScotRail Alliance, said: "The most recent figures show that last week, 95% of trains in Scotland were on time. That's the best performance since April 2015, which shows that the ScotRail Alliance continues to deliver for passengers all across the country.

"But there is no complacency here. We know that any delays can be frustrating for passengers, and that's why we will continue to work hard every single day building the best railway Scotland has ever had. The investment we are making just now will ultimately mean faster trains, more seats and better services.''