A summit on Scotland's railways is needed to deal with the "chaos currently engulfing the system", according to a Labour MSP.

Neil Findlay wants Transport Minister Derek Mackay to bring together employee and passenger representatives, the board of ScotRail and a cross-party group of transport experts to discuss issues affecting train services.

It was revealed earlier this month that ScotRail has been fined more than £250,000 over three months for failing to meet strict standards for trains and stations.

Figures show the franchise, taken over by operator Abellio in April, was hit with £265,282 in penalties between July and September.

ScotRail fell short in eight of 17 areas of station performance over the period, including toilets, litter, shelters and CCTV and security.

The franchise also failed to meet set standards in eight of 17 quality categories for trains, including toilets, graffiti, passenger information displays and the seat reservation system.

Cash penalties or rewards are issued depending on performance against a benchmark under the service quality incentive regime (Squire).

Mr Findlay highlighted the findings in a motion lodged at Holyrood on Thursday, which calls for a summit to be convened.

The motion also noted that "in October, passengers on the newly opened Borders Railway spoke of being 'packed in like sardines, standing room only', while other passengers faced cancelled services, out-of-service ticket machines and poor parking provision at Tweedbank in particular".

A ScotRail Alliance spokeswoman said: "Since the changeover of the franchise and the formation of our ScotRail Alliance we put in place an active programme of meetings with politicians, rail user groups and transport bodies from all over Scotland.

"In addition to this, six weeks ago we launched our new national Stakeholder Advisory Panel which brings together a host of organisations from across the country to discuss the future of our railway and how we best use it to connect Scotland's communities with opportunities to grow and prosper.

"We are transforming Scotland's railway to shift it closer to Scotland's economy and that will take time.

"We are introducing faster, longer, greener trains that will have more seats and will reduce journey times. Hundreds of millions of pounds is being spent upgrading infrastructure across Scotland and we are investing heavily in better catering and new technologies that will vastly improve customer experience.

"If Mr Findlay wishes to meet to discuss how we plan to transform the role of Scotland's national railway, we would of course be happy to do so."

A spokesman for the Transport Minister said: "Only Labour could twist the incredible success of Scotland's brilliant new Borders Railway into something to complain about.

"While we will always look at how services can be improved, the soaring passenger numbers we have seen since the Queen's historic opening of services speak for themselves.

"As for performance measures, the Scottish Government demands the most rigorous and effective service quality regimes of any rail franchise in the UK, and Abellio ScotRail have demonstrated a determination to drive standards up further.

"The Scottish Government is investing a record £5 billion in Scotland's rail services and we want to do more to deliver the kind of rail services passenger rightly expect.

"The only threat of chaos to Scotland's railways comes from Labour who want to leave passengers with a second class service and first class bill for services."

A spokesman for the Transport Minister said: "Only Labour could twist the incredible success of Scotland's brilliant new Borders Railway into something to complain about.

"While we will always look at how services can be improved, the soaring passenger numbers we have seen since the Queen's historic opening of services speak for themselves.

"As for performance measures, the Scottish Government demands the most rigorous and effective service quality regimes of any rail franchise in the UK, and Abellio ScotRail have demonstrated a determination to drive standards up further.

"The Scottish Government is investing a record £5 billion in Scotland's rail services and we want to do more to deliver the kind of rail services passenger rightly expect.

"The only threat of chaos to Scotland's railways comes from Labour who want to leave passengers with a second class service and first class bill for services."