Transport Minister Humza Yousaf is facing more pressure after new figures revealed a drop in the number of trains running on time.

Performance data from ScotRail showed that 86% of trains arrived at their destination on time or were less than five minutes late from October 16 to November 12 - although the most up-to-date annual figures put this at 89.8%.

But Labour transport spokesman Neil Bibby blasted the "shoddy service" from ScotRail, claiming the 86% total is a drop of 4.3 points from the previous four weeks.

The decrease in punctuality was revealed at the same time it was reported that Abellio ScotRail managing director Phil Verster's basic annual wage had risen to £265,000 a year.

ScotRail was forced to produce a performance improvement plan in September, at the request of Transport Scotland, after punctuality and reliability fell below standard.

While Mr Yousaf has insisted he will not be stepping down as Transport Minister, the train drivers' union Aslef has urged First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to sack him over the ''rail crisis'' in Scotland.

A train breakdown in Edinburgh on Thursday morning caused widespread disruption for commuters, with Ms Sturgeon apologising for this when she was pressed on the issue by Labour at First Minister's Questions.

Mr Bibby sought to put more pressure on Mr Yousaf, saying: "Passengers are fed up with the shoddy service they are receiving from ScotRail, which led to an improvement plan being submitted more than two months ago.

"Commuters will be astonished to discover that hundreds more trains have been late and performance has plummeted since that improvement plan was presented."

The Labour MSP added: "The deal with Abellio to run the ScotRail network was described as 'world-leading' by the SNP. But passengers and rail workers are fast losing confidence in the SNP Transport Minister Humza Yousaf.

"With winter around the corner, passengers deserve less spin and more substance from the SNP, with a guarantee they will see improvements to the punctuality and reliability of services in the coming months."

Mr Verster highlighted the "simultaneous challenges" ScotRail faces of building new electric lines and stations, replacing paper tickets with smart cards and introducing new trains, while also trying to improve punctuality.

He insisted: "Every single person who works for our ScotRail Alliance has one goal: to deliver for our customers. Our 7,500 dedicated people all work tirelessly every single day to deliver punctual services.

"Despite what we saw this week, we have improved our punctuality to 89.8% - even though we are in what is, traditionally, the most difficult time of the year for train operators right across the UK. We will continue to improve in the weeks ahead.

"I travel on our services every day and I listen and talk to our customers on stations, on trains and when we meet. I hear what they are saying. We are all working, all 7,500 of us, every single day, to improve our railway now and also for tomorrow."

A ScotRail Alliance spokeswoman said: "Scotland's railway is among the most punctual in the UK at 89.8% compared to 87.9% for operators in England and Wales.

"We are going through the biggest change and improvement in our railway infrastructure since the Victorian era.

"That upgrade to our track is being matched by what we are investing in our fleet. Our largest ever Train Improvement Programme will deliver new and better trains, with more seats and customer benefits like enhanced WiFi and at seat power sockets.

"All of this will take time. While we are working on it, we will do everything we can to minimise disruption and to keep people moving. When it is all in place, we will have transformed rail travel in Scotland.

"However, there is no doubt that we need to deliver better punctuality and reliability. Our Performance Improvement Plan contains 246 individual actions to make things better, every single day.

"Despite the dreadful incident this week, we have started to see improvements. In recent weeks our performance has been getting better.

"All 7,500 people who work for the ScotRail Alliance are focused on one goal - improving performance and delivering the best possible service for our customers."