Scotland’s Railway rose to the challenge of a series of severe weather events at the end of July and the start of August to record strong punctuality figures.
In the four weeks between 25 July and 21 August, 90.8 per cent of ScotRail trains met the rail industry standard public performance measure (PPM), arriving within at least five minutes of their scheduled time and having stopped at all stations on their route.
This mean ScotRail’s moving annual average (MAA), which measures punctuality across a whole year, is currently at 92.4 per cent.
The results have to be seen in the context of the severe rain and thunderstorms experienced by Scotland recently.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) issued 19 regional flood alerts at the end of July and more were put in place across the whole of Scotland the weekend of the 6 – 8 August.
The storms forced the train operator to put speed restrictions in place in a number of areas, including between Dingwall and Strathcarron, Culloden and Inverness, Elgin and Keith, Forres and Inverness, Perth and Blair Atholl and Glasgow Queen Street and Croy.
Fire chiefs described the downpours at the end of July as ‘a severe weather event’ and, according to meteorological experts, some areas of Scotland were expecting a quarter of their normal monthly rainfall in just one hour across 6 – 7 August.
Among other flooding around Scotland, Network Rail dealt with five feet of water in the twin tunnels at Dalmuir, north west of Glasgow on the route from Yoker.
David Simpson, ScotRail Operations Director, said: “I am delighted that we have managed to keep nine out of ten trains running on time, despite being faced by very challenging weather conditions.
“It’s a reflection of the hard work and dedication of all of our colleagues right across Scotland’s Railway as we continue to provide customers with the high level of service they deserve.
“Our proposed new timetable for 2022, which is currently up for public consultation, aims to build on our excellent recent successes as we aim to make Scotland’s Railway fit for the future.”
Photo credit: ScotRail
