SCOTRAIL
RTM talks to First ScotRail managing director Steve Montgomery Image courtesy Scotrail D
espite enduring a nightmarish few months through the
winter of 2009-10, Scotland’s railways have now regained their momentum with performance levels rising again.
The last four periods have seen First ScotRail record the highest moving annual average it has ever had, moving from its previous best of 93.7 to 94.8 per cent.
“This means that we have had an exceptional few months in terms of our overall performance,” says First ScotRail managing director Steve Montgomery. “It is a credit to all of the work which we are carrying out in partnership with Network Rail to ensure that we continue growing the performance of the railway in Scotland.”
So what has led to this improvement in performance?
“A lot of it is down to attention to detail, including working with Network Rail on infrastructure issues. It is also about how we manage things when they do go wrong, especially in terms of trying to get a quick recovery back in place.
“The biggest focus must be in preventing things from going wrong in the first place and there is a lot of work being done on the ScotRail units to try and make sure nothing goes wrong. We are also striving to ensure that there is always train crew in place and that they are there when we need them to be there.
“All this work has yielded results including a six per cent reduction in delays year on year from the very beginning of the franchise as well as a reduction in cancellations. As I have said, this comes after a lot of work by
Oct/Nov 10
can be on the new Airdrie to Bathgate link.
Steve Montgomery
Network Rail and ourselves to drive those delays down. Overall, ScotRail’s delays are down more than 50 per cent.”
ScotRail is now looking forward to having both a new set of trains and a completely new route - the Helensburgh/Milngavie to Edinburgh Waverley link via Airdrie and Bathgate.
“The first thing we are looking forward to is the arrival of the new Class 380s into active service. The first units arrived in September and our teams are now focused on getting them operational and introducing them into Ayrshire services. That will allow us to begin preparing for route learning on the new Airdrie-Bathgate line which comes live in December. However, we need access from the October 18 to allow us to carry out driver training.”
The 38-strong Class 380 electric trains will be introduced on Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire routes and next year will also operate on Edinburgh – North Berwick services.
Apart from working very closely with Network Rail, Steve and his team have been working very hard with a variety of stakeholders including Transport Scotland to make sure that everything is as good as it
“The new link is a critical part of the expansion of Scotland, both in terms of its railway and the economy. It is hoped that it will relieve congestion on the M8, with more people choosing to take the train. Having a direct service from Bathgate into the heart of Glasgow is going to make a huge difference for people and we believe that it will prove to be very popular.”
Whilst there are a lot of good things to talk about, there have also been some unfortunate incidents over the last twelve months, including the derailment of the Oban train which is is still under investigation by both Network Rail and RAIB.
“We are working very closely with both to get some answers. Obviously, one casualty of the event was our train being derailed and we are seeking assurances from Network Rail that better measures can be out in place to stop something like this from happening again as we know there were systems in place which failed to detect what was going on.”
Overall, however, the railway in Scotland certainly seems to be continuing on an upwards trajectory.
“There has been a tremendous amount of investment being made in Scotland’s railways by both the previous and current administrations,” says Steve. “Perfect examples are the £300 million Airdrie to Bathgate link and the new units. The trains represent over £200 million worth of expenditure and it is the biggest procurement of rolling stock which Scotland has seen in ten years.”
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