Train in vain

Shopkeeper John Mckee says he will not, in future, employ anyone who has to rely on the train to get to work.

The chief executive of Hanover Healthfoods in Edinburgh says repeated delays on the rail service from Fife into the capital mean a key member of staff is often late through no fault of her own. Anyone who has had to endure the appalling standard of service currently provided by Scotrail may understand.

Commuters who rely on trains have little choice but to like or lump what is on offer. We can’t imagine many like it.

Scotrail insists recent disruption is a consequence of extra training in advance of new timetables designed to drive up standards. This we’redoing-worse-because-we’re-tryingto-do-better defence is certainly a novel one.

If Scotrail’s current operator, Abellio, cannot bring the service up to scratch, the Scottish Government must find a company which can. Rail commuters pay a great deal and for that they should expect clean trains that run on time and have enough carriages to accommodate them. If Abellio cannot do that, it is in the wrong business.