WEST FIFE commuters travelling to and from South Gyle are fed-up with a rail service that they say is plagued with disruption.

The South Gyle station is just a short distance away for the hundreds of West Fifers who choose to work in the area but what should be an easy 15-minute journey home often becomes a marathon.

Regularly, the Press hears of scenes of chaos as passengers try to inch their way onto an already overcrowded service coming from the capital.

This week, Press reporter Gemma Ryder joined commuters on Monday evening on the train back from South Gyle.

“There’s disruption most of the time,” said North Queensferry landlord Don Lynch.

“Services are cancelled without warning, it’s a poor, poor service.

“There are never enough carriages and it’s very expensive considering it’s so close.”

After arriving at 4pm to speak to passengers on the South Gyle platform, a cancellation for the 17.17 service to Glenrothes had already been announced by ScotRail.

The non-appearance of a six-carriage service would cause unwelcome havoc.

The last off-peak train at South Gyle before the evening rush is the 16.27 service, often taken up by passengers who have spent the day in Edinburgh.

Peter Hopper said: “The problem with South Gyle is when it goes wrong further up the line it severely goes wrong here.

“You can often be waiting till after 6pm to get away, so I’ve resorted to going to Waverley first because they end up getting cancelled from here.

“My other complaint with ScotRail is their complete lack of communication, they just tell you everything last-minute and there’s no-one at South Gyle to help.”

Karen Smith lives in Dunfermline but said she commutes from Inverkeithing because she believes the extra £4 a day to Dunfermline is too expensive.

The 16.27 on Monday arrived on time but it was overcrowded as a platform full of passengers squeezed into the last spaces.

Susan, from Dunfermline, who just missed the train, said: “It’s a very unpleasant experience. People are often left here on the platform.

“I have to arrive half an hour early for work because you just can’t rely on ScotRail.”

Commuters told the Press the arrival of the new Edinburgh Gateway station was an inconvenience to workers because the service from South Gyle had been severely cut to make room for the addition.

“A few people may get off at Gateway, but an army gets off here,” said Neil Lockhart, from Dalgety Bay.

Grant, from Rosyth, added: “It’s massively irritating that services from South Gyle are few and far between. I’ve resorted to getting off at Inverkeithing and then waiting for the next train to Rosyth.

“I pay a lot of money to have my face in someone’s armpit! It’ll take an accident to happen before regulation is brought in.”

When commuters began arriving for the cancelled 17.17 some were completely unaware it wasn't running as it wasn’t displayed on ScotRail’s app or sent via text alert.

Liz Scott, from Dunfermline, said: “This one is often cancelled due to a fault. I am not surprised when they’re using 1970s trains!”

Work colleague Julie, from Limekilns, added: “It’s a nightmare! And I’m not just having a rant here, everyone will tell you it’s horrendous.”

When the 17.29 service arrived at South Gyle, commuters from Haymarket were already standing. The only room left was in the vestibule and some passengers were left on the platform. The next service to Dunfermline would be an hour-and-a-half later.

The whole journey was spent face-to-face alongside your fellow commuter and it was intrusive to say the least.

Sarah Swan, from Dunfermline, said: “This cannot be safe!”

Residents from Dalgety Bay had also joined us because the 17.11 train had been delayed. Tracey Johnston said the next service due at Haymarket had been shortened to two carriages, “There was no way I was going to get on, so I’ll have to try and walk from Inverkeithing.”

A ScotRail spokesperson said: “The safety of our customers and staff is always our top priority, we would never let a train depart if we believed it would be unsafe to do so.

“We understand customers’ frustration when services are cancelled, and we do everything we can to prevent this.

"However, every carriage available to us was already in use – meaning that we were unable to reinstate this service.”