ScotRail ‘stop skipping’ is rising

An increase in “stop skipping” by ScotRail trains has been branded extremely disappointing by the Scottish Greens.

In response to a written question from John Finnie, Transport Secretary Michael Matheson revealed 2,660 services failed to stop at all the designated stations on their route last year.

Mr Matheson said 0.33% of all trains booked to run in 2019 were affected by the problem.

It compares to 2,131 trains being reported to Transport Scotland for missing some stations between January 7 2018 and January 5 2019.

Mr Finnie, the Greens’ transport spokesman, said: “It is extremely disappointing that instances of stop skipping have increased by almost a fifth in a year.

“Folk rely on our rail services for work, education and so much more and it is simply unacceptable that this level of inconvenience occurs.

“It is not unreasonable to expect that your train calls at all the stations advertised.

“Everyone accepts that delays and cancellations will happen from time to time on a busy network but this should be minimised.”

While current ScotRail operators Abellio will cease running services in March 2022 after Mr Matheson decided not to run their contract for the full 10 years, Mr Finnie said the issue of stop skipping must be considered when the franchise changes, adding: “It is vital the transport secretary ensures this arrangement does not continue when the next franchise agreement is drawn up.”