Going off the rails

CUSTOMER surveys are dismissed as mere snapshots when politicians don’t like the results and hailed as tablets of stone when they do.

So the latest look at what passengers think of ScotRail has been carefully picked over by Transport Minister Humza Yousaf – and he trumpets that overall satisfaction is up from 88 per cent to 90 per cent.

He calls it ‘a significant increase’. No matter that the independent watchdog who compiled the statistics cautions that the 2 per cent margin is too small to indicate a significant change in attitude since the previous survey in spring 2016.

Mr Yousaf also skates over the inconvenient fact that the survey recorded a drop in 21 of the 32 measures it sampled.

Passengers feel less safe; ratings for ‘punctuality/reliability’ have also dropped; only 61 per cent of passengers said they believe ScotRail gives good value for money; only 54 per cent were happy with the way the firm deals with delays.

Suddenly Mr Yousaf’s cherry-picked statistic looks more than a little thin.

Alex Hynes, ScotRail Alliance managing director, is also quick to claim the picture on the railways is rosy: ‘We’re delighted with the overall satisfaction score.’

Passengers paying a king’s ransom to be on dirty, overcrowded and delayed trains – if not stuck on a platform after a cancellation – may discern worrying signs of complacency.

And Mr Yousaf’s every pronouncement must always be seen in the light of his infamous admission about his entire unsuitability for the job – ‘I’m no transport expert.’ GRIM as things are on our unreliable railways and sclerotic roads, spare a thought for those drivers who pass through Alford, Aberdeenshire.

The resurfacing of a modest half-mile of road there is forcing traffic into a 35-mile detour for a two-week period.

Hard to believe that, when significant stretches of motorway can be transformed overnight, so many motorists – who pay handsomely for the privilege of driving – are being so inconvenienced for so long.