THE recent good weather has brought rising temperatures to West Fife but it's been bad news for commuters stuck on overcrowded trains.

Passengers say they have been suffering from stifling heat on services during the hot spell and it's caused concern for one West Fife politician.

Cowdenbeath MSP Annabelle Ewing wrote to ScotRail, Transport Scotland and the Transport Minister to express her concerns about conditions for passengers on the Fife Circle.

She fears that crowded trains passing through West Fife stations have become too uncomfortable in hot weather for passengers.

She said: "I am sure that most of us have been delighted by the recent good weather which Scotland has been experiencing but these rising temperatures can have a downside and I have written to Scotrail, Transport Scotland and the Transport Minister to raise my very significant concerns about the impact on passengers on the Fife Circle.

"Along with the better weather, passengers on these vastly overcrowded trains are experiencing soaring temperatures which are causing already uncomfortable conditions to become almost intolerable.

"I want to know what can and will be done to ensure that passengers do not overheat.

"This is a genuine concern for many and could be very dangerous indeed. At the very least, I want to know that the heating has been turned off and that any air conditioning in the carriages can be turned on."

In reply, ScotRail said the release of more Class 170 trains on the Fife Circle line would bring more a modern air conditioning system but all trains had been checked that they were operating correctly for the summer.

Engineering director Syeda Ghufran said: "We also continually check the air conditioning during routine maintenance examinations and any that are reported defective in service are removed as quickly as possible to repair.

"We have a robust suite of summer tasks that are embedded within the vehicle maintenance instructions for each class of train.

"This year, in addition, we have also had support for the original equipment manufacturers to ensure functionality pre-summer.

"In response to your specific question asking if the heating can be turned off and the air conditioning turned on, I can advise that our systems are fully automatic and cannot be manually adjusted by the driver or on-train staff.

"They are designed to maintain the temperature within a given range."

Transport Scotland's Director of Rail, Bill Reeve, also confirmed that the systems on Fife trains had been going through an upgrade programme.

Despite the promises, passengers online are still complaining of suffering from hot temperatures on board.