Punctuality targets missed by ScotRail

ScotRail has missed a key performance target amid “challenging” autumn and winter conditions on the railways.

In the 12 months to January 6, 90.4% of trains met a target of arriving within at least five minutes of their scheduled time, against a target of 91.7%.

The figure was 83.4% for the fourweek period ending January 6.

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf has previously said he expected the target to be met by the end of 2016-17 after the introduction of a performance improvement plan.

ScotRail highlighted incidents that had impacted on performance, including signalling and points failures, and said railway industry expert Nick Donovan had been drafted in to carry out an independent review of performance.

ScotRail Alliance managing director Alex Hynes said: “We want to deliver even more for our customers, and because we rightly expect the highest standards, we will come forward with a performance improvement plan.

“Our customers deserve a better and more consistent service from us, and we are determined to deliver that.”