Murdo says ScotRail must keep to their promise to increase the number of rail carriages available in Fife by the summer.
He said “it is time to stop the chaos” of many peak time trains travelling to Edinburgh only having two or three carriages. Following recent talks with ScotRail at a Parliamentary briefing, Mr Fraser was told by ScotRail officials that a new, improved service will be in place in the Kingdom in the summer, offering more carriages and ending the short-running of trains.
Commenting, Mr Fraser said: “The present rail service to rail commuters in Fife who are travelling into Edinburgh is an absolute shambles. I have personal experience of it myself.
“This morning a train arriving at Inverkeithing was 10 minutes late and when it did arrive the guard told the commuters they couldn’t get on as there was already too many people. Then when the next train, which was also late arriving at the station, came, we were squeezed in like sardines when we boarded it.
“This has happened to me before and is a common complaint I am told about by irate constituents. I have had many complaints through the years from constituents in Fife about the problem of ‘short trains.’
“It is high time this outdated practice of using just two or three carriages came to an end and the long-suffering rail commuters in Fife finally get a better service that they deserve. It is time to stop this chaos.”
Murdo continued: “From my recent discussions with ScotRail they acknowledged that there has been a problem in Fife using ‘short trains.’ They told me that there were various reasons for this, including how they lost some staff following the pandemic and had fewer trains in service than they needed.
“ScotRail did say they are addressing this issue and have promised that there will be an improvement for Fife rail commuters in the summer, with more carriages being used. We have previously heard similar promises that didn’t amount to anything, so I will be keeping a very close eye on this to make sure we do see the end of ScotRail using ‘short trains.’”
