Scotrail’s managing director has admitted the firm’s performance “could be better” in Moray.
Last year, it was revealed that only 40% of services arrived on time in Elgin over the previous 12 months.
Now Alex Hynes, who has headed up the train firm since June last year, has admitted the performance in the area has not been as good as he hoped – but stressed big improvements are expected in the next 12 months.
Last night, the rail boss was bombarded by questions from commuters at a public meeting in Elgin for more than an hour while Moray MSP Richard Lochhead pressed him to ensure the region was not “forgotten about” amid wider improvements.
Regular passengers in the audience of nearly 100 people raised concerns about unreliable services, late cancellations, old trains and investment in infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Mr Hynes stressed the firm was continuing to consider the possibility of creating a maintenance base in Elgin to cope with an hourly service between the town and Inverness, which will begin before the end of next year.
However, audience members were concerned that a massive £330million improvement project on the line was not delivering major improvements between Elgin and Aberdeen.
Mr Hynes said: “The data we have shows that most of the commuting journeys from Elgin are made to Inverness. However, there will be minor improvements made to Aberdeen with some more early morning and evening services.”
Scotrail’s managing director also stressed that newly refurbished trains would also provide extra capacity on the line and more direct connections to Edinburgh and Glasgow from Moray.
Mr Lochhead explained the changes were an “exciting time” for the railway in the area but believed there was potential for more people to use the services.
He said: “We’ve seen £80million invested in the Moray railway but there is still a perception we get the rough end of the deal regarding rolling stock and assets.
“In the future, it’s important that the north is not left out of decisions, whether it’s about better connections or reliability. Hopefully the investment and improvements will build confidence in the railway.”
