Transport User Voice – December – Scotland’s upcoming timetable revolution

29 November 2018

Billed as a ‘Revolution in Rail’, ScotRail is making major changes to the timetable from 9 December. These changes are designed to deliver faster journeys, more seats, and additional services for passengers. They have been planned over a considerable period with ‘phase one’ changes arriving this December, followed by more that are scheduled to be delivered in May and December 2019.

Over the past few months, Transport Focus has met with ScotRail to review the proposals and to discuss whether they are deliverable, given the timetable chaos experienced by many passengers in England following a major set of timetable changes that took effect in May.

Transport Focus has been assured that the investment in Scotland’s railway to electrify more lines and introduce new and upgraded trains means that passengers will see faster journeys, more seats that improve capacity and more services that improve frequency – all key passenger priorities.

Improvements will be seen across Scotland, including additional services between Elgin and Inverness and 1500 extra seats per day on North Berwick to Edinburgh services. And while most of the changes will benefit many passengers, not everyone will be happy. Some daily journeys, for example Polmont and Linlithgow to Stirling, will be less convenient.

We all build our lives around the train services we rely upon. Changes can really affect people’s daily routine. However, these developments are following a phased introduction and should benefit many passengers. Nevertheless, passenger feedback is required to identify lessons and incorporate learning fully into future phases of the proposed changes.

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