Rachael Hamilton MSP has welcomed a revised ScotRail timetable on the Borders Railway, which promises to bring about more carriages on services during rush hour.
Ms Hamilton has repeatedly called on ScotRail to improve services on the Borders Railway following months of delays, cancellations and a lack of carriages.
Following public meetings and Holyrood committee appearances, ScotRail have committed to improving services, however Borders Conservative MSPs and MPs continue to pile on the pressure to ensure that these are delivered.
ScotRail said ‘starting Sunday 19 May, we’re introducing major timetable changes throughout the network, meaning more seats and faster journeys. They also stated that ‘extra carriages added to peak time train to and from this station [Tweedbank] will mean additional seats’.
Ms Hamilton hopes that services will become more punctual and the number of last minute cancellations will reduce.
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire MSP, Rachael Hamilton said:
“I cautiously welcome the first stage of improvement, and the new timetable with promised additional carriages at peak time will go some way in addressing the dire service we have at the moment.
“The proof of the pudding will be in eating, will these extra carriages actually leave the station on time, or will the new longer trains simply be delayed and cancelled similarly to before.
“Borderers are fed up with the poor service, and this was evident not only through the survey I conducted, but also at the public meeting in Galashiels.
“I hope that the extra carriages at peak time will improve the quality of commuters’ journeys, but as always, if this fails to deliver, I will be ready to hold ScotRail to account again”.