Scotrail hits reduced schedule times

Scotland’s rail operator has reported 97.6 per cent of its trains were on time in the last month, as it switched to a reduced timetable due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Scotrail introduced a modified timetable when lockdown measures were brought into force in a bid to support healthcare staff and other key workers, including earlymorning and late-night services.

The new figures continue to show an improved picture for the operator, following theannouncementthatthe contract of Dutch-owned firm Abellio to run the services would be ended early in 2022.

Following a three-year high of 92.3 per cent punctuality in March, the latest figures - between April 1 and May 2, improved by 5.3 per cent. Further changes to the timetable are expected when guidance from the Scottish Government on the lockdown changes, Scotrail said.

Alex Hynes, the managing director of Scotland’s Railway - a partnership between the Scottish Government, Scotrail, Network Rail and others, said: “I am delighted at howhardourstaffareworking to keep the key workers moving across the country. With fewer services running, we have made multiple changes to the timetable to make sure we are meeting the needs of those key workers. There are clearly challenges ahead but it is very encouraging that we have been able to implement such a robust timetable.”