6,000 trains ‘skip’ stations

ALMOST 16 trains skipped station stops across Scotland every day last year, figures have revealed.

Renewed calls for a public sector bid for the ScotRail franchise were made yesterday after it was revealed that almost 6,000 trains skipped station stops last year while almost 470,000 seats on services were planned but not provided.

The Scottish Government figures were released following a passenger survey which revealed that satisfaction had dropped in the second half of last year.

Passengers using the train to commute to and from work tended to be less happy with ScotRail, citing overcrowding, delays and cancellations as the main issues. There have been repeated calls for Scotland’s railways to be taken into the public sector, with Transport Minister Humza Yousaf committing to look at a public sector bid when the contract comes up for renewal.

He was forced to take action last year and issue current contract holder Abellio with an improvement plan as customers complaints rose.

Yesterday, it was revealed that a total of 5,968 trains skipped stations in 2017 out of 765,458 services planned to run. The number of seats planned but not provided last year was 469,059 – 0.35 per cent of the 133,371,277 seats that should have been available.

Meanwhile, one in five train toilet audits failed in 2017.

Of the 3,092 toilets audited, 686 recorded fails, accruing penalties of £225,870.

However, it was noted that ‘a significant number of fails were recorded for the maintenance record card being out of date as opposed to a fault with the actual facility’.

Green Party transport spokesman John Finnie said the ‘performance failures demonstrated the need for Scotland’s railways to be taken into public hands as soon as possible’.

Mr Finnie said: ‘These unacceptable ScotRail performance stats demonstrate the need for greater investment in our railways.

‘That investment doesn’t come as a result of private operators running a franchise. It is vital that ScotRail is moved into the public sector as soon as possible.

‘I welcome the cross-party approach taken by the transport minister in this regard so far but I would urge him to move faster – ensuring a public-sector bid is in place for the 2020 deadline.’

A ScotRail Alliance spokesman said: ‘We are investing hundreds of millions of pounds improving Scotland’s railway. The work we are doing will mean faster journeys, more seats and better services.’