General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 5 December 2024.
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve rail services for passengers in the Mid Scotland and Fife region. (S6O-04078)
I appreciate that services in Fife have been affected by overcrowding for some time. ScotRail is working hard to increase capacity and to improve the resilience of services, and it has recruited more maintenance and engineering staff, as well as train drivers.
Newly recruited engineering staff will allow for two high-speed trains to be returned to service between Glasgow and Aberdeen from the December timetable change, which will release diesel trains for other parts of the network, and additional stops will continue to be made at Dalmeny and Burntisland to reduce pressure on busy morning and evening Leven services.
The electrification work between Edinburgh and Dalmeny has started. That is the first step towards electrification of the Fife routes.
In Mid Scotland and Fife, which has a reliable service, ScotRail is adding longer trains for Saturday services on the Glasgow to Alloa line to meet the growing passenger demand.
The cabinet secretary has identified a number of issues with the trains in my region, but I want to ask about ScotRail’s proposals to close—sorry, to adjust the hours of—54 station ticket offices. That conceals the fact that 47 stations across my region will change their hours. I feel that there is a lack of transparency around those plans and that they are not being clearly communicated to the public. The 2022 consultation showed that passengers did not support changes to ticket offices, and the Government’s own report on the safety of women and girls emphasised the importance of having visible station staff.
The on-going consultation does not include members of the public, so how will the cabinet secretary ensure that the needs of all passengers are heard? Can she confirm that ScotRail will provide an up-to-date equality impact assessment?
With regard to that latter point, yes, I can. That point has already been made to a number of members.
Claire Baker will know that ticket office opening hours have not been adjusted for 30 years. The proportion of tickets that are sold at ticket offices has reduced from 78 per cent to 14 per cent. I am glad that she corrected herself: no ticket offices are closing; their hours are being adjusted.
In Claire Baker’s region, the ticket office at Cowdenbeath station will have its opening times reduced, but staffing hours will remain unchanged. Opening hours at Cupar will increase, and although opening times at Dalmeny will be reduced, staffing hours will remain unchanged on that line. Opening hours at Dunfermline city will be increased, and although opening times at Leuchars will be reduced, staffing hours will remain unchanged.
Visibility on platforms and in stations is important, as Claire Baker has stressed, and that is the focus of the adjustments that are being made, which are currently being consulted on with staff.