The operator has already reduced services on the Helensburgh Central line twice this year, citing reduced passenger numbers because of Covid-19 restrictions for the number of carriages being cut and late evening services axed.
Services on the West Highland Line, which calls at Helensburgh Upper, Garelochhead and Arrochar & Tarbet, have also dramatically reduced, making it effectively impossible for people to commute by to Glasgow from rural areas – the first train from Garelochhead now leaves at 10.32am.
Ms Baillie has now highlighted figures which show that between December 13 and January 9 only 51.7% of the trains which arrived in Helensburgh were on time.
“Abellio’s time in charge of ScotRail has been a shambles from the day the SNP handed the Dutch firm the keys to Scotland’s railways and the latest figures only show that hard-pressed local passengers are continuing to be let down,” said the Dumbarton constituency MSP
“I have been on the side of passengers raising problems with both ScotRail and the Scottish Government about the issues facing local commuters from delays, cancellations, stop skipping and over-crowded trains, but passengers are still receiving terrible services, despite repeated fair rises over the years.
“While the Scottish Government did finally listen to my concerns and that of local people, when they announced the early termination of Abellio’s contract. Hard-pressed passengers will still have to wait until 2022 for the early termination to take effect.
“That’s why it is vital that in the remaining months Abellio is in charge, the Scottish Government must do everything to ensure it improves its performance, so that passengers get the services they deserve and pay highly for.”
A ScotRail spokesperson said Ms Baillie was referring to a second performance figure published on the operators’ website for trains arriving within 59 seconds of their scheduled time), rather than the industry-standard Public Performance Measure (PPM) figures, for which they are held to account by Transport Scotland.
PPM to trains arriving within five minutes of timetable that have called at all booked stations on the way. This figure for Helensburgh was 88.2%.
The ‘on time’ figure for Glasgow Queen Street was 51% and the PPM figure was 90.2%
The spokesperson said ScotRail’s latest PPM was 93.2%, the highest since records began in 2000.
He added: “In these extremely testing times, we are recording outstanding, and sustained, high levels of punctuality. We know that a dependable service is a top priority for customers who rely on our services through the pandemic.
“It’s a tribute to the hard work and dedication of ScotRail staff and Network Rail colleagues and we are determined to continue to deliver in order to make the railway the best public transport option available when the coronavirus pandemic is behind us and more normal times return.”
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