Railway boost hailed by MSP

A Moray MSP has insisted that ScotRail improvements tackle the problem of the region’s rail users being “squeezed like sardines into a tin” on busy trains.

Richard Lochhead has long campaigned for a better service on the line between Inverness and Aberdeen, and hosted a public debate with Abellio ScotRail managing director, PhilVerster, in Elgin earlier this year.

Rail bosses have now committed to increasing capacity by 75% on trains between Inverness and Aberdeen by 2019, and by43% between Aberdeen and Inverness and the central belt.

Yesterday, Mr Lochhead said: “Passengers inMoray, who rely on the Aberdeen to Inverness line, have expressed growing frustration over local services in recent years, and the promised improvements can’t happen soon enough.

“More peoplewantto use the train these days, so it’s essential the infrastructure is there to meet growing demand.

“Butpassengers often tell me that, on some services, they are squeezed like sardines into a tin – and sometimes north trains are delayed or even cancelled.”

The SNP politician insisted Scottish Government pressure had helped bring about the planned changes.

He added: “These plans could be transformational forMoray – we need to see better punctuality, a higher quality of trains and that extra capacity as quickly as possible.”

Richard Lochhead