SCOTRAIL have been called on to work more with local authorities and transport providers to improve passengers' experience on the railways.
The company is facing demands to improve collaboration and consultation with public sector bodies and user groups, particularly in relation to planning station improvements and redevelopment works.
It is hoped that more joined-up working between ScotRail Alliance, the team formed by Abellio ScotRail and Network Rail, and other organisations will lead to more integrated transport options and better signage for passengers to follow.
In a letter to Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, MSPs on the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee also singled out issues regarding the closure of the north and south ramp taxi lanes which previously operated in and out of Edinburgh’s Waverley Station.
Private vehicles were banned from entering the station in July 2012 in a bid to repel any potential terrorist attack, but the committee have said the move has caused access problems for those with disabilities.
Its members have given ScotRail until the end of the month to meet their earlier commitment to improve access to the station.
Jim Eadie MSP, convener of the Holyrood committee, said: “Almost 5,000 people in Scotland gave us their views on what they think about accessibility in our major urban railway stations.
“It was clear that much more could be done to improve the customer journey in our railway stations, from better signage to more integrated transport options for people travelling beyond a railway station.
“A particular issue was raised with the Committee about Edinburgh Waverly station, including concerns about the lack of communication and consultation over the closure of the taxi rank.
“The current situation where there is limited cycle access allowed to the station also goes against measures to promote greater use of cycling. We welcome ScotRail’s commitment to identify improvements to access via the north or south ramps and will seek an update on progress in late August."
Abellio, a subsidiary of the Dutch national rail company Nederlandse Spoorwegen, took control of the ScotRail franchise from First Group from April 1 this year on a ten-year contract.
Mr Eadie said: “As a committee we plan to hold ScotRail to account on their promises to passengers and will question them again in front of MSPs on their progress.”
ScotRail said they were currently looking at ways to enhance passenger relations as well as considering future access for cyclists at Waverley.
A spokesman said: "We welcome the committee's interest in improving access to our stations.
"We understand that our passengers, and the wider community, want to be more involved in helping to shape how the railway develops and the Alliance is committed to giving them that voice.
“That includes setting up a Stakeholder Advisory Panel and a Stakeholder Equality Group. They will provide feedback for future improvements at stations and on trains.
"We are also currently reviewing access for cyclists at Edinburgh Waverley and assessing how best to improve access while still maintaining a safe and secure environment for all station users."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel