ScotRail’s boss has said he is “very sorry” for the delays and disruption faced by north-east rail passengers over the past six months.
And Alex Hynes, managing director, admitted that the service had fallen “far below” the standards expected by customers and the operator itself.
Mr Hynes was speaking at a meeting of North East of Scotland Transport Partnership (Nestrans) yesterday.
The region has been plagued with cancellations and delays in recent months, with ScotRail pinning the blame on essential training for its drivers.
The rail operator has been issued with two remedial notices since December due to the ongoing problems.
Mr Hynes told the committee that just three of the 26 refurbished high speed trains due to be in use between the north-east and the central belt were in service.
There are currently a number of “classic” trains that have not been upgraded which are being used in their place.
But he also said drivers had to be trained how to operate the diesel vehicles which meant that the operator had been forced to take the “painful decision” to cut services.
“We have been cancelling too many services and that’s because of a training backlog,” Mr Hynes told committee members.
“We are very sorry for the service we have provided for our customers because it is not good enough and we are working flat out to improve.
“There has been additional compensation offered to our season ticket holders, and that is on top of the standard compensation we offer to passengers when services are cancelled.
“Fixing this issue is number one on the to-do list of my team, we need to make sure we fix it, and fix it fast.”
Committee members were also updated with the £16 million overhaul of Aberdeen Train Station.
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Contractors are already at the station setting up scaffolding for a £9m replacement of the glass roof.
The operator will spend £7m on the inside of the station to replace the floor, which breaches health and safety guidelines.
The tiles currently in place become slippy when there is moisture in the air and have led to a number of passengers falling and injuring themselves.
And the rest of the cash will be used to improve the shops on offer, the ticketing area, the taxi pick-up point and cycle storage facilities.
Subject to approval, the internal work will begin in the summer and is expected to take 10 months.
