ScotRail’s ‘return to normal’ mocked by fed-up Highland passengers after cancellations misery on Far North and Kyle lines; Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP fears ongoing issues pose ‘threat to their viability’ unless tackled
A string of cancellations and delays in the same week that rail services in the north were meant to be ‘returning to normal’ are a “dangerous threat” to the viability of the region’s railway lines, an MP has warned.
Jamie Stone, who represents Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, and is also president of the campaign group Friends of the Far North Line, was speaking after frustrated passengers mocked ScotRail's much publicised 'return to normal' after the first week of full timetables in months was bedevilled by a string of cancellations in the north.
Since Monday numerous services on the Far North and Kyle lines have been cancelled due to signal failures, staff shortages and major engineering work - among others.
There have also been delays for some trains, with one Kyle to Inverness service earlier this week falling more than an hour-and-a-half late after being forced to wait at Muir of Ord for a gap in traffic that would enable it to proceed due to a lack of a passing loop.
Mr Stone said: "These problems amount to a dangerous threat to the future viability of the far north line.
“Customer confidence in the service equals customer use. If travellers feel that the potential problems are too much, then they will travel by bus or car - that means fewer passengers on the trains, something that could threaten the viability of the service altogether."
This week’s issues have not gone unnoticed by fed up members of the public.
Commenting online, several mocked ScotRail's earlier statements about a return to normal timetables after reaching a pay deal with staff. Although there was no industrial action, routes across Scotland had been forced to run reduced timetables since the summer after staff refused to work overtime and the company had insufficient additional staff to plug the gaps..
Mocking the return to normal, Mary Reid said: "What happened to normal service? Oh yes, constant disruption IS normal service. The thing is, this has so much more impact in rural areas."
Alan Roberts was equally scathing, saying: "I did laugh when I read the statement about all ScotFail services returning to normal on Monday. Mind you I guess all these signalling faults, trains breaking down, services cancelled due to leaves/snow/rain being on the track is normal for this country and its hopelessly inadequate public transport.
"These clowns failed to recruit enough drivers to take over from all the drivers they knew were about to retire."
And Janette McCutcheon, commenting on news of signal failure driven cancellations earlier this week, added: "It is absolutely ridiculous. This is the most unreliable service I have ever come across. That's two days running that the service has been cancelled.
"The governments want us out of our cars and use the trains… not likely.
"Also what about the people who depend on this service to get to work? Not even a bus replacement!"
Meanwhile, reacting to news of cancellations between Inverness and Kyle on Friday, which did have bus replacements, Sandra Powell said: "This service is used by Skye residents to get to hospital in Inverness due to lack of health care on the island. It's a pretty poor state of affairs. No chance of getting island residents out of their cars."
Similar sentiments have been raised by Caithness residents in the past over their inability to rely on Wick-Inverness trains when travelling to Raigmore Hospital for appointments.
Other posts hit out at ScotRail's lack of drivers, with ScotRail having been actively recruiting in recent years to try to improve the situation.
Campbell Brand said: "Due to a failure by Scotfail to employ/retain/train sufficient staff.”
Gordon Mackenzie, meanwhile, said recruitment efforts were ongoing, but it took time to train up the new staff. He said: "Drivers have been employed, nearly 200 if memory serves me right. It takes between 18 and 24 months to qualify as a driver. The previous Dutch company, Abellio, failed to do this, resulting in a shortage. Profit before service."
The disruption comes as ScotRail seeks to recruit more staff, including an announcement this week for skilled engineers to join its Inverness Depot - one of four key maintenance and repair hubs across Scotland which help to keep the country’s 600 trains running.
Network Rail Scotland is also spending £1.6m on engineering works to replace sleepers and rails at locations like Merkinch, Dingwall and Alness.
Announcing the engineering recruitment, Julie Dale, ScotRail HR Director, said: “Our engineers are at the heart of what we do, ensuring we deliver a safe and reliable railway for our customers. Checking and maintaining our trains before they depart on their journeys is vital part in the essential service ScotRail provides for local people, visitors, and tourists.”