Question reference: S5W-33527
- Asked by: Maureen Watt, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 25 November 2020
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 November 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure rail services for key workers in the current circumstances while demand is low and unlikely to increase in the immediate future.
Answer
The Rail Recovery Task Force has been considering how the rail industry in Scotland should react to the prevailing Covid-19 situation in line with Scottish Government guidelines to provide a robust and reliable train service reflective of current passenger needs.
Demand is currently sitting around 15% of pre-covid levels. Following detailed consideration of various options it has been agreed it is prudent to reduce services to circa 80% of the current timetable from 13 December 2020. Some changes on the Edinburgh – Glasgow route will begin on 30 November.
Using a targeted approach, ScotRail will deliver enough seats to allow customers to travel safely while providing an increased level of resilience for their staff, particularly as they may be required to mitigate any potential reduction in staff numbers due to the impacts of COVID-19.
The services being removed are those with the lowest passenger numbers, or travelling in the opposite direction to peak flows. We have also asked ScotRail to demonstrate that their removal is unlikely to have a significant impact on passengers. Other considerations have included previous intelligence about services used by key workers, such as travel to stations near hospitals, as well as whether or not alternative services are available within a reasonable time period either side of the removed service.
This decision has been discussed with unions and passenger groups. It will be kept under review on an ongoing basis to enable services to be increased if required.