WEST FIFERS witnessed “pandemonium” on Saturday (June 1) night as the last trains to Fife tried to leave Waverley.

The 23:09 to Dundee was held up because of severe overcrowding with only two carriages on offer.

A number of passengers blasted ScotRail on Twitter for allowing more and more customers to join an already-crowded train.

Police Scotland officers were called to help deal with the situation.

Paul Avinou, from Dunfermline, was travelling back to Inverkeithing after a concert.

He told the Press: “It was just absolute pandemonium.

“It was only the good nature of people I think that stopped it being more serious.

“When I first got on it was busy as expected but 10-15 minutes later we hadn’t left and people were still getting on.

“I regularly commute so I’ve seen a lot of overcrowded conditions but I’ve never seen it so full.

“I could not understand why they were letting more people on. I mean it got to the point where I was surprised it hadn’t kicked off.”

An announcement was made by the train conductor for any customers travelling to Inverkeithing to leave the train and board the 23:19 Edinburgh to Perth instead.

ScotRail say a replacement bus was also sourced to supplement the 23:09 service but claim a number of customers were intoxicated and continuing to drink alcohol so the British Transport Police had to attend.

The train eventually departed at 23:49.

Paul added: “An announcement was made that the train was not going anywhere until some people got off.

“People were reluctant to get off because they didn’t want it to happen again and not many people moved.

“I got off and I counted four different police officers.

“TBy the time we got to Inverkeithing there were not many taxis there and there was an elderly woman in her 70s on her own.

“There are genuine consequences to what ScotRail do.

“I have no idea what time I got back, I was just grateful to get home!”

Saturday’s chaos came after a meeting of Fife MSPs with the Scottish Government’s Transport Secretary, Michael Matheson, on May 29 to discuss improvements in the standard of rail services in Fife.

Dunfermline and West Fife SNP MSP, Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We are committed to ensuring that our constituents’ concerns about rail services are heard at the highest level.

“It’s simply unacceptable that Fifers have been seeing such a poor standard of service over the last months.

“I’m pleased that the Transport Secretary has confirmed that he is acutely aware of the need to improve Fife services. He’s been keeping ScotRail’s feet to the fire, and we are finally seeing movement in the right direction, with some improvements in terms of the rate of cancellations and delays in recent weeks.

“But this needs to be just a first step in a series of major improvements. New rolling stock needs to be deployed on the Fife Circle at the earliest opportunity, to ensure that passengers are seeing the high standard of services that they deserve.”

A ScotRail spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to our customers who were delayed on Saturday night but the safety and security of our customers and our people is always our top priority.

“Anyone delayed by 30 minutes or more can claim money back through our Delay Repay Guarantee on our website or mobile app.”