ScotRail have hit back at criticism raised through the Press' Crush Hour campaign this week.

We have called on ScotRail to provide a better service to West Fife commuters, after highlighting that too many times services are delayed, cancelled, overcrowded and are skipping stations. 

Responding to commuter’s concerns, a ScotRail Alliance spokesperson said: “We are doing everything we can to build the best railway Scotland has ever had – and that applies to all of Scotland,” he said.

"Our new trains will usher in a new level of customer service on Scotland’s railway, transforming rail travel in Scotland by providing more seats and a much improved on-board environment. The introduction of these trains will allow us to make best use of our existing fleet and make positive timetable changes.

“In terms of punctuality, ScotRail report this by using the Public Performance Measure (PPM). 

“PPM is the percentage of all ScotRail passenger services that arrived at their destination within 4 minutes, 59 seconds of their timetabled arrival time having called at all scheduled stops on route.

“To be clear, the suggestion that we miss stops to meet targets is untrue. Any service that does miss a stop automatically fails its target.”

He said the PPM was averaged across a year to take account of busier times, such as autumn and winter, compared to a quieter spring and summer to give a Moving Annual Average (MAA) – the average of the PPM for the previous 13 periods. He said this was currently sitting at 90.4 per cent.

The spokesperson added: “We understand customers’ frustration when services miss out stations and do everything we can to minimise it but it is a very rare occurrence and is only done to limit further disruption to customers across the wider network. These figures apply to less than half of one per cent of all scheduled stops on the Fife Circle, which highlights just how rare it is.”

He added that the 17.57 train that Press reporter Gemma Ryder used on Monday night was scheduled to be operated by a three-carriage train but had to be substituted for a two-car train on that occasion.