ScotRail admits it skips Fife stops

Firm says practice is rare and only to limit hold-ups elsewhere

Fife train users have slammed ScotRail after the firm admitted trains have been deliberately skipping stops throughout the region.

Commuters were left incensed yesterday as the 07.09 Dundee to Edinburgh service bypassed a number of scheduled stations, as it had done previously in the week.

A ScotRail spokesman said the practice was rare and only done to limit disruption elsewhere on the network, but critics believe stops are being missed to hit punctuality targets.

Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay councillor David Barratt is one of those demanding answers over the apparent deterioration in the region’s rail service of late.

ScotRail’s own mobile phone app has proved the railway firm deliberately skips scheduled stops during the morning rush hour.

One screengrab of the official app shows that yesterday the rail firm skipped four stops on the 07:09 Dundee to Edinburgh service – arriving at its destination on time.

The peak hour train decided to speed past stops at Kinghorn, Burntisland, Aberdour and Dalgety Bay – despite passengers waiting at the station in the cold to get on.

The same stops were also skipped on Monday and Tuesday this week leaving more potential passengers in the lurch.

Critics claim ScotRail is skipping stops to hit government-imposed punctuality targets.

Yesterday, one outraged commuter, Daryl Motion, posted a screenshot of his ScotRail app showing the “cancelled” stops on Twitter.

He wrote: “ScotRail why has the 8:06 train from Burntisland to Edinburgh Waverley been cancelled again for the third time this week?

“Also who decides that your customers in Burntisland, Aberdour and Dalgety Bay are less important than anyone else on the route for the third time this week?”

Community Facebook page, What’s Happening Dalgety Bay today said: “For the third time this week, Dalgety Bay 8.15 trains cancelled, whoops sorry skipping station to make up time so ScotRail can fudge the figures to the Scottish Government about none of their trains been late so keeping there service standard.”

On Wednesday, Fife councillor David Barratt wrote an open letter to ScotRail’s managing director, Alex Hynes, accusing the firm of skipping stops to meet punctuality targets.

A ScotRail Alliance spokesman said: “We absolutely understand how frustrating it is for customers when services miss out stations or are cancelled and do everything we can to minimise it, but it is a very rare occurrence and is only done to limit further disruption to customers across the wider network.

“Missing out stations happens in less than half of one per cent of all scheduled stops in Fife, which highlights just how rare it is.”

Who decides that your customers in Burntisland, Aberdour and Dalgety Bay are less important than anyone else on the route for the third time this week? DARYL MOTION