Rolling stock shock

I’ve bad news for John Gordon-walker (Letters, 4 April). Should he decide to step aboard an Abellio Scotrail tourist train in the near future, he’ll be as disappointed as I am.

The vaunted promises of Abellio Scotrail (ASR) in providing tourist trains has boiled down to nothing more than refurbished twin-car 158s.

These appalling trains represent the pogosticks of public transport, and are best described by the adjective “poxy” (Chambers Dictionary: anything unpleasant, or contemptible).

The experience of a 158 is battery-chicken travel, where humans are squashed into unpleasantly tight spaces, with little room for luggage. Air-conditioning in 158s has long been a problem, and transport of bikes is a lottery.

These shameful 158s are at best basic suburban rolling stock, rail vehicles built down to a price rather than up to a standard, and ASR with Transport Scotland ought to be ashamed of themselves for even thinking of introducing such ghastly conveyances (they don’t deserve the appellation of “train”).

Mr Gordon-walker mentions lunchboxes being provided for tourist trains “at strategic locations”? If this happens, it’ll be the eighth wonder of Scotland’s transport world!

GORDON CASELY

Crathes, Kincardineshire