One in ten trains now running late

RAIL passengers endured thousands of extra cancellations and delays after one in ten trains ran late in the past year.

Scotland’s rail network has worsened over the past six months, mainly due to the poor performance of Network Rail, figures show.

The rail watchdog published a report showing train punctuality failed to meet targets and has declined in the past three months.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said trains had a punctuality level of 90.5 per cent, 1.5 percentage points short of expectations. Scotland had one of the worst punctuality rates.

The scathing assessment comes ahead of widespread disruption on the Edinburgh-Glasgow line, which will be partially closed until July 27 for a tunnel upgrade.

ORR published its latest Network Rail performance data and analysis for the first year of its five-year funding period. Last year, Network Rail embarked on a multi-billion pound plan to improve reliability and efficiency. The report shows Network Rail has not met some enhancements programme delivery targets, with some projects facing delays.

The report said: ‘Network Rail delivered far less work than it planned for the upkeep of the rail network, and punctuality and reliability is below expectations on some routes, notably Southern, Thameslink and Scotland.’

The work at the Winchburgh tunnel near Linlithgow in West Lothian is part of a £750million upgrade to enable faster, bigger and greener electric trains to run on the line.

Engineers said the tunnel closure was necessary so tracks could be lowered to create space for overhead power lines for the new trains.

Rodger Querns of Network Rail said: ‘We are working hard to minimise disruption.’

Scot-Rail operator Abellio has appointed Edinburgh Trams boss Tom Norris as chief executive, replacing Jeff Hoogesteger, sacked because of ‘irregularities’ after the Dutch firm won a contract in the Netherlands.