Scotland’s new Transport Minister must tackle train delays at Ayr and Girvan stations, says an MSP.
Sharon Dowey has been calling on delays at the stations to be addressed for several months but says her pleas “have been falling on deaf ears”.
The Scottish Conservative MSP’s concerns come after figures from Scotrail’s Performance Update from March 5 to March 31 flagged that just 36.6 per cent of trains arrived on time at Girvan station while 63.9 per cent arrived on time at Ayr.
However, the public performance measure (PPM) figures for Girvan and Ayr– services that arrive or terminate at their location within five minutes of their booked arrival time– is 90.8 and 91.2 per cent, respectively.
Ms Dowey says she will “continue to hold the Government to account” on the issue and is now calling on new Transport Minister, Kevin Stewart, to see improvements to train services at Ayr and Girvan.
She said: “I’ve been calling on these delays to be tackled for months now, yet my calls have been falling on deaf ears in the Scottish Government and little action has been taken to reduce them.
“When passengers arrive on time at Ayr and Girvan Station for their train, there’s an expectation that the train will show up at its expected arrival time. Yet, more often than not, that’s not the case.
“If we can’t deliver a reliable rail service, passengers won’t be encouraged to use public transport on their commute. If passenger numbers reduce, that’ll only push up rail fares and make our journey to net zero all the harder.
“I’m hopeful that under the new Transport Minister, passengers in Ayr and Girvan can trust ScotRail to deliver a reliable service, and I’ll continue to hold the SNP Government to account on this.”
Minister for Transport Mr Stewart said one of the priorities in his new role is to see an increase in the PPM stats.
Mr Stewart said: “Our aim for public ownership of ScotRail is delivering a service which listens and responds to passenger need.
“Arrivals within five minutes of the scheduled time, the industry standard measurement, is 91.2 per cent at Ayr and 90.8 per cent at Girvan. This approach allows drivers discretion to allow extra time for passengers with impaired mobility or those struggling for one reason or another.
“One of my key priorities coming into post is to lift these figures even further and that includes ensuring ScotRail remain focused on driving performance upwards.”
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