Stats show misery goes on for commuters
Tra i n commuters in Rutherglen and Cambuslang are continuing to face delays with some lines seeing just a quarter of journeys arriving at their destination on time.
Figures for services between August 21 and September 17 show only 45.3 per cent of trains heading for Newton arrived at the final stop on time.
This will have affected all passengers travelling through King’s Park, Croftfoot, Burnside and Kirkhill.
On the Argyle Line service through Rutherglen and Cambuslang, trains set for Dalmuir arrived at the end of the line within a minute of their scheduled time just 28.1 per cent of the time, while those destined for Milngavie made it on time just 25 per cent of the time.
Scotrail say the public performance measure for these lines shows a different story, with 94.7 per cent of Newton trains arriving at the station within five minutes of their scheduled time.
However, Dalmuir and Milngavie are below the national average of 90.7 per cent, with only 88.6 per cent and 78.3 per cent of trains managing to arrive within five minutes.
In the other direction, Motherwell services arrived on time 48.7 per cent of the time and Larkhall services 46.3 per cent of the time.
Other destinations that can be reached through Rutherglen or Cambuslang include Cumbernauld (41.8 per cent), Carstairs (50.2 per cent), Lanark ( 46.8 per cent) and Whifflet (60.2 per cent).
Glasgow MSP James Kelly (below) released the figures this week and said they were proof it was time for a “publicly owned people’s ScotRail.”
He added: “The fact that only 45 per cent of trains terminating at Newton are arriving on time is unacceptable. The SNP Transport Minister needs to get a grip of what is happening on our railways and explain exactly what will be done to tackle delays and improve reliability.
“The reality is that while passengers are continuing to pay more for a shocking service, Abellio has made £1million-a-month profit from their franchise agreement with the SNP Government.”
Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey said she had met with the transport minister and representatives from Abellio to discuss the situation after being approached by constituents.
She added: “The SNP Government has been clear that the performance this year has not been as good as we expect. The Scottish Government expects ScotRail to improve — and under the contract agreed sustained poor performance could, ultimately, lead to termination of the franchise.”
“There has been a 30 per cent increase in passenger traffic on Scotrail services since 2007. In 2015 a £475m investment programme was launched to improve stations and provide an additional 180 carriages to the current rolling stock.
“Commuters on suburban services, such as those in Rutherglen and Cambuslang, will start to see the benefits from next spring.”
A ScotRail spokeswoman said: “We have had a challenging few months due to industrial action, the big infrastructure works at Queen Street and the programme to electrify the line between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“This has undoubtedly contributed to the fact that we are slightly behind our demanding target for performance. We have agreed an action plan with Transport Scotland about how we pull this back up to the level we would expect.”