These Fife train services revealed in top ten most overcrowded in Scotland
Train services in Fife have been named among the top ten overcrowded in Scotland.
Morning and lunchtime services from the newly opened Leven station to Edinburgh Waverley were listed, along with Glenrothes to the capital. The figures were published by the Scottish Liberal Demcrats who urged the Scottish Government, while a senior Tory MSP is meeting with ScotRail today (Friday) to discuss the issue.
The figures showed that the Fife services highlighted were 26% over capacity with the worst service in the country being the busiest times on the Tweedbank to Edinburgh Waverley route which was 45% above capacity.
Daniel O’Malley MSP, the Lib Dems’ transport spokesperson, urged the SNP Government to “get serious” about improving rail services and delivering for passengers. He said: “Passengers are shelling out huge sums of money to travel by train, only to be squeezed under someone’s armpit once they’re on board. Routes in the Borders and Fife are particularly badly affected, with people packed onto services like sardines. The SNP government has been responsible for Scotland’s trains for almost three years. In that time, they have clobbered passengers with ticket hikes and done next to nothing to minimise disruption or overcrowding. It’s a masterclass in how to make public transport as unattractive as possible.
Today, Murdo Fraser MSP will meet with ScotRail bosses to pick up a long-standing issue he has raised on a number of occasions.
He said he “wasn’t surprised” to see the figures, and added: “I have lost count of the number of times I have raised this issue with various Transport Ministers at the Scottish Parliament, or written to them regarding the problem, but it still drags on. Despite countless letters to SNP Government Ministers and questions at Holyrood, there is no indication when ScotRail will end this outdated practice of using short-running trains from Fife into Edinburgh.
“I have experienced this problem myself many times. You often board overcrowded carriages at
Inverkeithing where you end up being squeezed like sardines, or even worse, you are left on the rail platform as there isn’t any room on the train, and this leads to people being late for their work in Edinburgh.
“I have often pointed out that Fife rail commuters are being badly let down through overcrowding and the use of short-running trains - they deserve a lot better than this. Hopefully ScotRail will provide some answers to me at this meeting, including supplying a timetable on the ending of short-running trains in Fife.”
Mark Ilderton, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “We know that one of our customers biggest concerns is busy trains, and we’re sorry to customers for any disruption they’ve experienced. When faults occur and trains require maintenance, it can result in some trains operating with fewer carriages than planned. This is the preferred option, rather than cancelling a service completely.
“We’ve been working hard to get trains back in service as quickly as possible, and deliver the level of service our customers expect.”