MSP John Finnie calls for urgent work on Highland rail line after train cancellation figures are revealed
Highlands and Islands MSP John Finnie has called for urgent improvements to Highland rail infrastructure after the scale of cancellations in the last year was revealed.
The figures obtained by Mr Finnie showed there were a total of 595 trains fully cancelled in the last year on the Aberdeen to Inverness route, an average of just under 50 per month.
Other Highland services were also badly affected in the same period, with the Glasgow and Edinburgh to Inverness via Perth route experiencing 342 cancellations, an average of 29 per month.
Mr Finnie said: "These cancellation figures show rail infrastructure in the Highlands is not fit for purpose and commuters are paying the price.
"These routes connect the Highlands’ two largest cities and the Highlands to the rest of Scotland.
"Passengers have a right to expect them to be reliable and at the moment they’re clearly not.
"In the midst of a climate emergency we need to be encouraging more people to use public transport, not offering them a shoddy service which they can’t trust to get them to their destination."
