Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Commuters’ anger as train service cuts make them late for work
FRUSTRATED Leuchars commuters went for their normal train to Edinburgh yesterday morning to discover the service no longer runs under ScotRail’s new timetable.
The 7.27am train from Leuchars to Edinburgh is one of 700 services the state-owned rail company has cut as it introduces a temporary timetable.
It was previously the last train to get workers into the capital before the usual start of the working day at 9am.
Commuters can now choose between the 6.51am service and the 7.53am. The latter arrives in Edinburgh Waverley at 9.13am.
Engineer Peter Hodgson, 45, is from Newport-onTay. He has been commuting into the capital for around three years.
He said: “It’s really disappointing. I’ve got meetings. I’ve got appointments. It’s unacceptable that I can’t make my work commitments.
“The recent changes are just going to deter people from going on the train. It’s a big step backwards.”
ScotRail had already cut the 7.11am from Leuchars to Edinburgh in a timetable change brought in on May 14, only a week before the latest timetable containing further cuts.
There are also fears surrounding the impact on the Open later this summer.
ScotRail announced the temporary timetable earlier this month in response to train drivers refusing to work on their rest days, as they had previously done.
Train drivers’ union Aslef is balloting its members for further industrial action after rejecting a 2.2% pay offer.
Dental hygienist Michelle Haworth-Jones, 64, drives from Kirriemuir to Leuchars for onwards travel to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“If this train that’s due now is affected in any way then I can’t get into work on time,” she said.
Paralegal Kim Falconer, 62, also missed her usual Monday train into the capital.
“I was looking at the signage. I noticed my usual train wasn’t up so I had to go and ask,” she said.
David Simpson, ScotRail service delivery director, apologised to customers and said the company had been forced into making “some very difficult decisions” regarding its timetable.