DUNFERMLINE’S MSP is raising a stink over the muck on Scotland’s railways – and wants transport minister Keith Brown to help flush it out.

Cara Hilton is backing transport union RMT’s campaign to end the dumping of sewage on the railways, in the interests of health and safety for workers and staff.

RMT wants Transport Scotland and Network Rail to put pressure on Abellio – Scotrail’s new operators – to bring forward the proposed date for fitting retention tanks across the fleet, from December 2017 to April 2016.

The Scotrail franchise documentation had 2020 as the target date for ending the practice, but the transport minister moved that date to December 2017.

However, Ms Hilton said this did not “reflect the level of progress required to protect railway workers from bad practices that are compromising their health and safety on a daily basis”.

She supports the RMT’s belief that April 2016 is an “achievable target”, and has written to Mr Brown to take “immediate and appropriate action”.

Ms Hilton said, “It cannot be acceptable for workers in this day and age to be exposed to such filthy conditions when multi-million-pound deals are being struck in bids and takeovers such as the Scotrail franchise.

"I hope the minister responds to my call for immediate and appropriate action in putting an end to this practice and in doing so demonstrate his commitment to standing up for workers who do not want this practice to be a part of their everyday working condition for the next three years.” RMT general secretary Mick Cash said April 2016 was a “perfectly realistic and achievable target for halting this filthy and disgusting practice”.

He continued, “Abellio are set to make a fortune out of the Scotrail franchise and the very least they should be forced to do is to dip in their pockets and retrofit the retention tanks.

“RMT has said all along that if it was wealthy bankers getting sprayed with sewage rather than rail workers, then this scandal would be ended overnight. RMT’s campaign goes on.”