1. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address reports that rail travellers on the Fife circle face poor journey experiences and that there are consistent failures of service. (S5O-01694)

I completely understand the frustration that customers can experience as a result of poor performance and recognise that ScotRail has faced a number of challenges in recent months, which I fully expect to be addressed immediately. Alex Hynes, the managing director of ScotRail Alliance, has instigated an independent review that is being taken forward by Nick Donovan as part of ScotRail’s recovery measures, which I very much welcome. The sooner the performance challenges are addressed, the sooner passengers can enjoy the level of service that they desire and deserve.

My officials at Transport Scotland continue to closely monitor and challenge ScotRail’s performance and will work with it as it develops and implements the actions to improve performance over the coming months and years.

I am pleased that the minister understands the frustration that is felt. I am sure that he understands how frustrating it is when someone who is standing on a platform, waiting for the train to come, sees the train going right past them. People can be left waiting for an hour, which results in their being late for work.

The

Dunfermline Press has launched a crush hour campaign—the name speaks for itself. Masses of rail users in Fife are horrified at the service that they are getting. Will the minister agree to meet me, so that we can go through the detail of all the problems?

People have been patient, but they have waited long enough. We need action. Will the minister consider taking the railways back into public ownership so that the profits can be invested in the railways and we can address the unacceptable situations that occur on the Fife circle rail route?

I am sure that Alex Rowley understood from my answer that I was in no way dismissing the concerns. I completely understand them, and I have been keeping up with the coverage of the issue in the

Dunfermline Press.

I will try to wrap some context around the issue. For most of 2017, until the autumn months, there was a significant improvement in Fife rail services, with performance running at about 90 or 94 per cent. However, the services have not coped well since the autumn months, which is the reason for the independent review. I have been contacted by many MSPs from across the chamber who represent Fife, including Shirley-Anne Somerville, Annabelle Ewing, Jenny Gilruth and Liz Smith.

I spoke to Alex Hynes this morning about this issue and others. I am more than happy for my office to facilitate a meeting between Alex Hynes and the MSPs who have contacted me and others from Fife, including Alex Rowley. I would also be more than happy to meet Alex Rowley individually. However, because it is a matter for ScotRail, I think that a meeting with the managing director would be the appropriate measure, and my office will facilitate that meeting if that would be helpful.

As the member probably knows, there will be an upgrade in the rolling stock later in 2018 or early in 2019. Nevertheless, people in Fife should not have to wait for that to get an improvement in their service; therefore, the immediate priority is getting that improvement in performance.

On Mr Rowley’s latter point, I understand his ideological position but I gently remind him that it is the Scottish National Party Government that has allowed a public sector bidder to bid for the railways for the first time—something that was denied by successive Labour Governments at Westminster.

The issue of skip-stopping, which we are discussing, is a problematic one, because a skipped stop is treated only as a partial cancellation, which means that no financial penalties result from it. Does the minister agree that skip-stopping must be identified in the new franchise and that financial penalties need to be applied to it?

I reiterate that, when a stop is skipped, it counts as a public performance measure failure and, of course, ScotRail is held to account for those.

With regard to the issue of financial fines, the service quality incentive regime—SQUIRE—is probably the best auditing regime of any railway in the United Kingdom. That has been borne out by the fact that ScotRail has been fined quite substantially when it has failed to meet the extremely high criteria that we set for it.

I will reflect on Mark Ruskell’s point when considering future franchises, but, before we get to the franchise endpoint, we should continue dialogue with ScotRail to minimise a practice that is unhelpful. When I became the transport minister, I told ScotRail that I expected it to minimise the skipping of stops, particularly during peak hours. That has happened, but it is clear that the autumn and winter months have been challenging for ScotRail, and that is unwelcome.