Woeful track record costs ScotRail £3m
Firm penalised for skipping stops, delays & cancellations
SCOTLAND’S train operators were under fire last night after racking up record financial penalties for poor service.
The failings led to £3million of payments over the first nine months of the financial year.
Since Dutch parent firm Abellio took over ScotRail in 2015, the penalties have reached about £7.5million.
The money is put in a fund, the Service Quality Incentive Regime (Squire), and reinvested into the network to tackle areas in need of improvement.
The total emerged as passengers continue to suffer the impact of cancelled services, skipped stops and delays on major routes at peak times.
Last night, the Government admitted the standard of the service is not high enough.
Opposition parties said passengers are being let down and demanded that Transport Minister Humza Yousaf forces ScotRail to improve.
Labour say the franchise should be brought under public ownership.
MSP Colin Smyth said: “ScotRail have left passengers having to pay a SERVICES on one of the UK’s busiest rail routes will be suspended during the Easter weekend for engineering work. Passengers travelling between London and Scotland via the West Coast Main Line from Saturday, March 31, to Monday, April 2, will be forced to use replacement buses. small fortune for delayed and overcrowded trains – and even when trains are not cancelled, they can’t be guaranteed to stop at the stations they are supposed to. “This is simply unacceptable, yet the SNP Government bury their head in the sand and pretend everything is fine.” Recent findings show Abellio fell short in 26 inspection benchmarks, which include ticket offices, shelters, graffiti and timetables at stations and seating and toilets on trains. A ScotRail spokesman added: “We’ve signed up to the toughest service quality regime in the UK – and it is right that we have.
“These are not fines. It is a reinvestment fund. Every penny raised through Squire gets put back into Scotland’s railway.”
The train operator, who run about 800 trains, will soon hear the findings of a review by former Transpennine Express chief Nick Donovan.
A spokesman for Government agency Transport Scotland said: “It has already been well documented ScotRail are below the standard the Scottish Government require and passengers expect. The ongoing independent Donovan review will look closely at improvement on areas such as performance and skip-stopping.
“Once the findings are known, the Transport Minister will look at the recommended steps for improvement and how this information is made publicly available.”
ScotRail reported 93.6 per cent punctuality for Sunday, the most recent full day for results.
Express services, which include Edinburgh to Glasgow, were running at 85.7 per cent. OCTOBER 2014 Abellio win the ScotRail franchise, taking over from FirstGroup. It’s a 10-year contract with a potential break at seven years.
Abellio formally start running the network.
Phil Verster takes the job as managing director at Abellio.
Major improvement works begin on the main Edinburgh to Glasgow line, with massive disruption for passengers. SEPTEMBER 2015 The Borders line opens.
Scotrail penalised by £265,000 for failing to meet standards on trains and at stations.
First in series of pledges to improve standards.
Passengers’ main concern continues to be the impact of upgrades. Glasgow Queen Street tunnel shut for 20 weeks.
ScotRail workers strike in dispute over trains without guards.
The First Minister apologises to passengers when a broken down train causes problems in Edinburgh. ScotRail promise to prevent trains skipping stops to make up time, although this still happens.
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf announces £3million discounts to compensate for disruption. It is not the fare-freeze Nicola Sturgeon had hinted at.
Phil Verster sparks a row by telling MSPs he “can’t vouch” for who will pay for the compensation scheme. Verster quits as ScotRail boss after less than two years. He was under intense pressure because of the service’s missed punctuality targets and reliability.
ScotRail report a £3.5million loss after tax in their first full year. Abellio made £9.5million profit in nine months. Accounts show ScotRail were given a £10million loan last year.
ScotRail draft in former Transpennine Express managing director Nick Donovan to carry out an independent review of their service. ScotRail apologise after being forced to halve the number of carriages on some Glasgow-Edinburgh trains because of the late arrival of new fleet.