ScotRail fined yet AGAIN for missing targets
SCOTRAIL has been hit with another fine of close to £700,000 for poor standards in a range of areas, including toilets, cleanliness and seat damage.
The firm, which is operated by Dutch giant Abellio, failed to achieve more than half of its performance targets in the three months from April to the end of June.
The targets, which are set by the Scottish Government as part of the ScotRail franchise, relate to the quality of trains and stations.
This latest poor performance is in addition to concerns about laterunning trains and cancellations.
The latest fine takes penalties for poor performance to nearly £13million since Abellio took control of the franchise.
Scottish Labour transport spokesman Colin Smyth said: ‘The SNP said that Abellio would be a world-leading deal for Scotland’s railways. Instead, the firm has racked up more than £12million worth of fines since the current franchise began.
‘Hard-pressed rail passengers are being continually failed, with the SNP handing Abellio an effective licence to fail, with missed targets and poor performance repeatedly ignored.’
Labour, which is stepping up pressure to remove Abellio and end the ‘chaos’ on Scotland’s railways, is pushing for a public sector-led bid for the franchise. Transport Scotland’s performance figures show ScotRail missed 23 of 38 targets set for trains and stations in the first quarter of the 2019-20 financial year.
It fell short of required standards on issues including litter, timetables and toilet conditions at stations, and reservations on board trains.
It also failed to achieve targets on train seat damage, cleanliness and passenger information.
ScotRail is effectively ‘fined’ every time it misses a key performance target as payments are withheld. The total amount kept back in the first quarter of 2019-20 was £687,422.
The Service Quality Incentive Regime (Squire) report assesses facilities at stations and on trains. When standards fall short, money from Transport Scotland is put into a fund used for projects across Scotland’s railway instead of going to the operator.
The amount kept back from ScotRail has fallen for the sixth consecutive quarter and is down from £1.18million during the same period last year.
In the latest Squire report, ScotRail-operated stations missed 12 of 21 targets and its trains fell short in 11 of the 17 categories.
ScotRail’s customer operations chief Phil Campbell said: ‘Everyone at ScotRail is working flat out to improve the quality of our service, and these figures show the considerable impact the efforts of our people have already had.
‘The investment in new and upgraded trains, better stations and improved infrastructure is delivering the service our customers expect and deserve.’
ScotRail has had to contribute £12,909,706 to the Squire investment fund since Abellio took over the franchise in 2015.
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: ‘These latest Squire results are evidence of the recent positive progress and the ongoing efforts to ensure this continues, particularly around staff recruitment and training.
‘While penalties have reduced over six consecutive periods, we recognise there is still work to be done and will continue to press ScotRail to deliver the high standards both ministers and passengers expect and deserve.’
‘Passengers are continually failed’