New figures reveal trains into Dundee are lagging

TRAINS stopping in Dundee turn up on time less often than at other main stations across Scotland, according to new figures.

Statistics released by ScotRail reveal that 87.7% of trains arriving or terminating at Dundee station between December 11 and January 7 did so within expected national standards.

The standards — which say trains must arrive no later than five minutes behind schedule — are measured by Network Rail’s Public Performance Measure (PPM), used by all train companies in the UK to report performance.

However, in comparison, 93% of trains arriving at Glasgow Central, 90.4% at Haymarket and 89.3% at Perth turned up within these limits.

Liam Kerr, Scottish Conservative MSP for the North East region, said: “It’s disappointing to see that the performance of ScotRail services into Dundee are lagging behind the national average and indeed other cities, such as Perth and Edinburgh.

“That will come as no surprise to long-suffering commuters who are forced to put up with delayed and overcrowded trains on a daily basis.

“ScotRail clearly has work to do to restore the confidence of passengers in its services.

“For thousands of Dundonians, who regularly travel by rail, that means making real and lasting improvements to punctuality and capacity.”

A ScotRail spokeswoman said a speed restriction on the Highland Main Line has resulted in delays through Fife, which has impacted on Dundee services.

The firm published a performance plan last year in response to criticism since Dutch owners Abellio took over in 2015.

Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said: “These latest figures show our performance improvement plan is starting to produce results for our customers.

“We can do more and we can go higher, and every single one of the 7,500 people who work on Scotland’s railway is committed to doing just that.

“In the months that follow, there will be even more trains, more services and more upgraded stations.

“That is all good news passengers.”

Dundee’s performance has remained constant since the last period between November 13 and December 10. for