New figures signal continuous improvement on Scotland’s trains

Average performance in Scotland now 2.7% ahead of England and Wales

The ScotRail Alliance has today (Monday, 13 February) confirmed that train performance has shown another sharp rise.

The industry standard public performance measure (PPM) statistics show that in the four weeks to 4 February:

• Performance rose to 91.6% – a 1.9 percentage point increase on the previous period, and

  2.3 percentage points better than the same period last year

• The ‘Moving Annual Average’ figure rose to 90.1%

• Performance in Scotland continued to outperform other parts of the UK – the annual average for England and Wales remained at 87.4%

This is the fourth period in a row that ScotRail has delivered improved performance.

During the four weeks to 4 February, ScotRail handled 7.4 million passenger journeys on around 57,000 train services.

Notable incidents affecting performance included a First Transpennine Express train breaking down at Cambuslang on 9 January; a fire that was started deliberately on the rail line near Blackridge on 18 January, a track issue at Lesmahagow on 21 January, and a points failure at Newton on 26 January.

Perry Ramsey, ScotRail Alliance operations director, said: “Right now, across Scotland, we are working round the clock to deliver improvements that will transform our railway. This is one of the biggest, most ambitious upgrades of the network since it was built in Victorian times.

“Today’s figures show that, despite the huge challenge of this work, we are continually improving the service we deliver to our customers, every single day. This is demonstrated by the fact performance is up, not just on a month to month basis, but on the same period last year.

“It is now clear that the Performance Improvement Plan, introduced late last year, is working and we will continue to keep customers at the heart of everything as we seek to consistently improve our performance.

“Over the coming months, passengers will see the work of the past year start to deliver. New trains are being tested in Scotland, major projects – like the electrification of Glasgow to Edinburgh are almost complete, and a host of new smart ticket products are about to be rolled out.

“This will mean more seats, faster journeys and hassle free travel through better stations. This is what our customers want and it is what we have all been working so hard to deliver.”

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: “It is encouraging to see that performance in this period is significantly better than last period, and above the same period last year.

“For the year as a whole, the Moving Annual Average has improved again this month and it also remains above the GB average, but is not quite where we would want it to be yet. It is however encouraging to see four continued periods of improvement, especially during the winter period.

“Working with the industry, we remain focussed on ensuring the performance improvement plan is implemented effectively and real improvements continue to be seen over the next few months.

“It is also important to recognise the real efforts made by ScotRail staff who are working hard round the clock, in all types of weather, to lift performance and deliver rail services which passengers both desire and deserve.”