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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Petition calls for Abellio to lose ScotRail operation | Petition calls for Abellio to lose ScotRail operation |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A petition calling for Abellio to be stripped of the ScotRail contract, backed by about 16,000 people, is to be presented to Transport Minister Humza Yousaf. | A petition calling for Abellio to be stripped of the ScotRail contract, backed by about 16,000 people, is to be presented to Transport Minister Humza Yousaf. |
| It calls for the Scottish government to act over delays and cancellations. | It calls for the Scottish government to act over delays and cancellations. |
| ScotRail has said one of the largest programmes of modernisation since Victorian times is to blame for the disruption. | ScotRail has said one of the largest programmes of modernisation since Victorian times is to blame for the disruption. |
| But it argued the result of the programme will "transform" travel. | But it argued the result of the programme will "transform" travel. |
| Stewart Kilpatrick from the campaign group 38 degrees said he was due to meet the transport secretary later to discuss the issue. | Stewart Kilpatrick from the campaign group 38 degrees said he was due to meet the transport secretary later to discuss the issue. |
| 'Relentless focus' | |
| He told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "The quality of service on ScotRail trains just isn't good enough. | He told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "The quality of service on ScotRail trains just isn't good enough. |
| "That's seen in the fact that 16,000 Scots have signed a petition saying that just needs to improve, it needs to get better and if that means stripping Abellio of their contract then so be it. | "That's seen in the fact that 16,000 Scots have signed a petition saying that just needs to improve, it needs to get better and if that means stripping Abellio of their contract then so be it. |
| "We've been bombarded with stories from members across Scotland of delays, frustrations, missed appointments, important life events being impacted by the poor service offered by ScotRail and they've had enough." | "We've been bombarded with stories from members across Scotland of delays, frustrations, missed appointments, important life events being impacted by the poor service offered by ScotRail and they've had enough." |
| Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, admitted that he wanted the company to be in a "better place". | |
| He said earlier industrial action and the disruption caused by the current programme of modernisation had led to customer dissatisfaction. | |
| However, he added that 500 "tweaks" would be made to the current timetable to help alleviate some of the disruption. | |
| He told Good Morning Scotland: "In the next two years we are taking the fleet size from around 800 carriages to a thousand carriages. That is a massive addition of capacity and on some routes, like Aberdeen to Inverness, capacity will increase by 75%." | |
| He insisted punctuality was improving, particularly over the past four weeks. | |
| "Ending on Saturday, we delivered a punctuality of 90.2%. So considering that our average is around 89.6%, we are consistently now improving our punctuality through a relentless focus on the things that make a difference." | |
| He added: "I am humbled by how patient our customers are. | |
| "When I look at how our customers have responded to the Winchburgh closure, the Queen Street blockade and how our customers have adapted and adjusted their travel patterns. We will continually improve how we run the railway and punctuality will continue to improve." |