The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Temporary cuts to late night trains
Late night trains from Edinburgh to Dundee and Perth will not run on Saturday nights – quashing hopes ScotRail would reverse some of its controversial cuts to services on the weekend.
The company’s new, temporary timetable outraged passengers this week with cuts to commuter services and the end to late night links between Scotland’s major cities.
Managers have now updated the temporary timetable, adding Saturday’s services. They have not yet published the Sunday services.
The Monday to Friday timetable saw managers slash roughly a third of services. The Saturday timetable retains many of the same cuts.
Many hoped the Saturday timetable would protect later trains, allowing passengers to return from evening events and nights out in Edinburgh.
But the last train between Edinburgh and Dundee on Saturday leaves the capital at 20:03 – only three minutes later than its weekday equivalent.
When do the last ScotRail trains run on Saturday night?
The last train from Edinburgh to Perth pulls out of Waverly Station at only 19:42 – the same as during the week.
That will rule out gigs, theatre trips and nights out in the capital for scores of people across Tayside and Fife.
But there is slightly better news for those worried about the effect on the night time economy in Dundee.
The last train from Dundee to Edinburgh departs at 20:45. While the corresponding Perth service leaves at 21:11.
That is later than during the week when the last service between Dundee and Edinburgh leaves at only 18:47, while the last service from Perth is at 18:04.
ScotRail bosses published a press release on the temporary timetable, but chose to upload the Saturday timetable to its website without comment.
David Simpson, ScotRail service delivery director, previously said the temporary timetable would see a “reduction in service but will more importantly provide customers with a level of certainty and reliability.”
“In order to provide a robust timetable with the limited number of available train drivers, we’ve had to make some very difficult decisions.
“This has meant we’ve been unable to provide a full day’s service across every route.
“We will review the service levels and make any improvements we can as quickly as possible.
“We’re sorry to our customers for the disruption they’ve faced, and we share their frustration.
“We want to resolve this dispute with Aslef and move forward together to provide the safest, greenest, and most reliable railway we can for Scotland.”