Only 25.7% of trains at Wick arriving on time

7th October 2016

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant is demanding action after official ScotRail statistics show trains at Wick arrive late more often than they arrive on time.

The latest ‘Annual On Time Arrival at Destination’ figures show that only 25.7% of trains into the station arrived on time, meaning 74.3% were late.

The same statistics also show only 43.6% of trains into Tain arrived on time, meaning 56.4% are late.

A third of all rail routes across Scotland have services that are late more often than not, with figures showing that ‘on time arrivals’ are below 50 per cent at 25 stations where trains terminate across the network.

Separate data also reveals that the SNP Government’s cap on rush hour rail fares increased by over 23 per cent between 2011 and 2015, while average weekly earnings rose by just 6.8 per cent – meaning regulated fares have risen nearly four times faster than wages.

A new dossier - “Scotfail: How the SNP took our trains off track” – has been published by Scottish Labour and Mrs Grant, who is also Vice President of Friends of the Far North Line, is demanding action from the SNP Transport Minister to tackle delays and improve the reliability of services for people across Ross-shire, Sutherland and Caithness.

“Most passengers accept that there are times when disruption can’t be avoided but people shouldn’t have to put up with services that arrive late more often than they arrive on time,” she said.

“The fact that only 25.7% of trains into Wick and 43.6% of trains into Tain are arriving on time is unacceptable. The SNP Transport Minister needs to get a grip of what is happening on our railways and explain exactly what will be done to tackle delays and improve reliability.

“The reality is that while passengers are continuing to pay more for a shocking service, Abellio has made £1million-a-month profit from their franchise agreement with the SNP Government.

“The current set-up can’t possibly provide value for money for passengers in Scotland. That’s why Scottish Labour supports a publicly owned People’s ScotRail which would mean a better deal for commuters and put passengers before private profits.”

PHOTO
Photographer - Bill Fernie