Train services through Lockerbie are now “worse rather than better” after TransPennine was stripped of the franchise.
The comments were made by rail minister Huw Merriman at the transport committee as he delivered an update on rail services and infrastructure.
At the end of May TPE was stripped of the service with the state-owned operator of last resort (OLR) taking over after years of complaints from passengers.
Performance had initially improved slightly but more than 90 trains were cancelled in a day at the start of June.
Mr Merriman said: “I continue to look at performance on a weekly basis and it’s got worse rather than better since it was transferred to the OLR.
“That’s no reflection on that team, it tends to be a by-product of where the current team have been running so hard to catch up they’ve taken a moment to catch their breath.
“We also lost six drivers who were route-knowledged all the way through the entire network so that had an impact.”
Just 50 per cent of drivers have full route knowledge and it takes 18 months to train a driver.
Dumfriesshire MP David Mundell said: “The decision to end the failed franchise was the right one as that operator had demonstrated over a long period of time its inability to run a service which rail passengers could rely on.
“Placing the TransPennine Express service in the hands of a state-run ‘operator of last resort’ is an opportunity to turn that around, but it is also clear that given the scale of the challenges faced this won’t happen overnight.
“The most important thing for me is to get existing services stabilised for passengers using Lockerbie Station, following a collapse in confidence over the last year.
“I am meeting with the rail minister to discuss the situation overall and the steps to be taken to achieve that stabilisation.”
South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said: “After years and years of terrible service under TransPennine, and utter inaction from the UK Government, passengers at Lockerbie are likely to suffer for some time to come, as turning round this shambles won’t be easy.
“They need to have a proper improvement plan to tackle the short term chaos of cancellations and in the long term, increase services from Lockerbie.”
Chris Jackson, Interim Managing Director for TransPennine Express, said: “We are committed to providing a stabilisation plan that will deliver the service that TPE customers across the network expect and deserve.
“Our immediate priority is to reduce cancellations and restore performance as quickly as possible. We are already seeing the benefits of our initial work which, together with the resumption of driver rest day working, is making a real difference for our customers.”
