Cancelled ScotRail trains rack up £1.7 million bill for replacement bus services an experience Highland passengers are no stranger to last minute changes
New data has revealed that Scotrail has shelled out £1.7 million on replacement bus services – something Highland rail passengers are well aware of as they go for a train but are often offered a bus instead.
The Scottish Government nationalised the rail operators in April 2022 amid ongoing concerns about how Abelio was running the service but since then there has not been a huge improvement.
In one notable example, Scotrails’ failure to complete a journey led to the company shelling out £800 for a taxi from WIck to Inverness back in 2022.
A driver shortage led to a temporary timetable – this is in part what caused the huge bill for the replacement bus services – but there have also been question marks about the resilience of the network in the face of harsh weather.
According to a Scottish Conservative Freedom of Information request the publicly-owned rail company spent £1.6 million running pre-planned rail replacement buses on several major routes.
But an additional £134,000 was spent on running emergency bus services when trains were cancelled or unable to run due to technical issues – including engineering works or track issues.
Currently the late trains that run between Inverness and Tain which is now a bus service due to engineering works on the line – though that is not Scotrail’s fault as the track is the responsibility of Network Rail.
But there have been numerous other examples, including the Inverness and Wick service being cancelled last month again due to a shortage of drivers for the Far North Line – not even a bus was offered on that occasion.
The previous month it was the same scenario on the same route while earlier in the year and last October autumn storms caused major disruption to the Highland network due to severe flooding.
Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for transport Sue Webber MSP said: “The shocking bill for replacement buses highlights what a shoddy deal train users and taxpayers are receiving from the SNP’s botched nationalisation of ScotRail.
“Things have got worse, not better, since SNP ministers got their mitts on ScotRail.
“Around 6,000 ScotRail journeys have been cancelled since April alone, alongside the reduced timetable which caused nothing but misery for commuters and goes against everything we were promised nationalisation would be.
“Commuters are being let down by an unreliable service, and now they’re being asked to pay far more for the privilege with the return of peak fares.”
