ScotRail chiefs praise improved reliability of Scotland's railway services
RAIL services have performed better in the past four weeks than at any point since last September, transport chiefs have claimed.
ScotRail said that more 90.7 per cent of trains met the rail industry standard public performance measure (PPM), arriving at their destination less than five minutes outside their timetabled arrival.
The company said there were improvements for customers on routes all over the country during the period between June 23 and July 20.
It said it followed the successful introduction of the new timetable in May, arguing that this had led to "significantly fewer cancellations and improved capacity every day".
The firm also said that the arrival of InterCity 125s in the north had boosted seat numbers and also improved reliability – reducing cancellations in the past eight weeks by more than 50 per cent.
Alex Hynes, managing director of ScotRail, said: “This latest period of performance is another sign of the fantastic progress we are making in delivering for our customers, and all across the country there are improvements thanks to the hard work of everyone on Scotland’s railway.
“The unprecedented investment in upgrading the infrastructure, and introducing new and upgraded trains, is delivering a consistent level of performance that’s providing our customers with the service they expect and deserve.”
Abellio, which runs the ScotRail franchise, said its £475 million investment in new and upgraded trains – alongside infrastructure improvements from Network Rail Scotland – was helping to deliver more than 2400 trains every weekday.
