ScotRail peak services 'will not return to pre-Covid levels'

The rail operator said that the move was in line with new travel patterns and overcapacity on some routes.

Returning services are set to be during the day rather than at traditional peak times.

Following a consultation which gathered 3,450 responses, more than for any other consultation in ScotRail’s history, the company’s operations director David Simpson suggested that hybrid working would mean “plenty of space” would be available on commuter services.

Speaking on BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Simpson said: "People's commuting habits are changing hugely.

"Most people who used to do five days a week to the office now say they are going to be doing two, three or four days of hybrid working.

"What we are doing is altering the travel patterns, but also reflecting the ways where people are travelling more, such as leisure, weekends shopping and so on."

Abellio is to be stripped of its ScotRail contract from April 1, when the franchise will be brought under state-control.

The move towards the new timetable has sparked furious debate in Holyrood in recent days.

The new timetable will lead to a 10% cut in services compared to before the pandemic, Scottish Labour have said.

MSPs discussed the future of the rail operator in a debate at Holyrood on Thursday.

Labour MSP Neil Bibby called for the Scottish Government to rule out compulsory redundancies for rail staff and reject ticket office closures.

He said ScotRail had announced their new timetable shortly before the debate began.

Mr Bibby said: “Far from increasing services, it represents a cut of one in 10 services compared to pre pandemic levels.

“It proposes 2,150 daily services compared to 2,400 before. A cut of 250.

“It proposes 590,000 seats per day, compared to 640,000 before. A cut of 50,000.

“No doubt we will hear a lot of spin from the Government. But these are the facts, the inconvenient truth they will want to ignore.”

Recently announced ticket price increases would be “the biggest fare hike in a decade”, he said.

Jenny Gilruth, who was appointed Transport Minister last month after her predecessor Graeme Dey stepped down for health reasons, responded for the Government.

She said the Scottish Government had provided record investment in railways and she would be meeting with rail unions soon.

Ms Gilruth said: “It was clear even before the pandemic that some ScotRail services were significantly under-used.

“On off-peak services some trains were running virtually empty. That’s not an effective use of our finances.”

At the height of Covid, revenue droped to just 10% of pre-pandemic levels, she said.

Ms Gilruth continued: “Nearly half of ScotRail passengers have returned to services, which is good, but travel habits and purchasing patterns are changing with more people working from home.”

The new timetable would lead to 150 more daily services compared to December last year, she added.

ScotRail defended its decision to review services, saying revenue has been slashed since March 2020 while costs have remained the same.

Mr Simpson said: "The service is only being used by about 50% of the number of customers who used it before the pandemic.

"There is absolutely plenty of space on the current service levels to cope with the commuter and leisure demand.

"We are monitoring that on a daily basis and if there is any need to lengthen trains or put more services on, we will do so. But so far there has been no evidence of that.

"The peak, commuter services won't see a return to pre-pandemic levels.

"What are doing is focusing services on the middle of the day and at the weekends, where the evidence is showing that people really want to travel."

Railway unions have come out to accuse ScotRail of using the Covid pandemic as a cover for cuts, but ScotRail said it had not laid off a single member of staff and wanted to work with trade unions "to provide a safe and reliable railway".