50 ScotRail trains a day are delayed or cancelled

NEARLY 50 trains a day are cancelled or significantly delayed on Scotland’s railways, according to new analysis by Scottish Labour.

The party highlighted data from the Office of Rail and Road showing that during each four-week period an average of 1360 services were either cancelled or arrived more than half an hour late.

The figures show an average of 49 trains have been cancelled or significantly delayed every day since Dutch operator Abellio took over the ScotRail franchise in April 2015.

ScotRail produced a performance improvement plan in September at the request of Transport Scotland after punctuality and reliability fell below target.

Amid criticism of the franchise Labour has launched a campaign for rail fares to be frozen in 2017, a proposal First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she will consider.

With regulated rail fares, including season tickets, due to rise by up to 1.9% from January, the party says it could save commuters up to £100 on season passes.

Scottish Labour’s transport spokesman Neil Bibby MSP said more should also be done to ensure passengers who face delays are aware of their rights. He said: “These figures are just the latest demonstration of the problems that passengers are facing.”

A spokeswoman for ScotRail said it operated more than 2300 services a day with punctuality at 89.8% compared with 87.9% for operators in England and Wales.

She said: “Our performance improvement plan contains 246 individual actions to make things better for passengers every single day.”