ScotRail has been accused of performing a “sleight of hand” after restoring its train service to normal levels.
The firm reintroduced its full timetable on Wednesday after bringing in a temporary schedule in May due to a dispute with train drivers’ union ASLEF.
But South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth claims the restored timetable still offers less trains in Dumfries and Galloway than were running in the region before the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Smyth said: “Whilst it’s a step forward that we will see most of the services axed in May restored, it really is a sleight of hand by ScotRail to claim this is a return to a full timetable.
“There will still be hundreds of services from the pre-pandemic timetable that have still not been reinstated and we will have a poorer service than we had just a couple of years ago.
“The service across south Scotland were bad enough before the pandemic and we should be looking to make improvements not run down our railways which this reduced timetable does.”
A ScotRail spokesman said the May timetable was introduced following a consultation with rail users on a new-look schedule last year.
And after concerns from customers, they added two additional trains between Glasgow and Dumfries, with trains running at least every two hours.
ScotRail service delivery director, David Simpson, said: “We know how much people right across the country rely on rail travel, so we’re pleased to have been be able to reintroduce the timetable after achieving a positive resolution with ASLEF. Everyone at ScotRail can now focus our efforts on providing the safest, greenest, and most reliable railway we can.
“The reintroduction of our May 2022 timetable is a stepping stone in the process of recovering from the pandemic, and as passenger numbers increase, we will keep the number of services under regular review.”
Despite the return of the full timetable, there were more problems for passengers this week as a result of the heatwave hitting the UK.
TransPennine Express, which runs services to and from Lockerbie, advised passengers only to travel if “absolutely necessary” on Tuesday.
After issuing a similar warning, Avanti West Coast announced on Tuesday afternoon all its trains across the network were being stopped “due to the extreme heat causing multiple incidents across the network”.
The problems continued on Wednesday and Thursday with a number of services – including those between Scotland and London Euston – cancelled while repair work was carried out to the network and trains were moved back into position.
And more disruption is expected on Wednesday as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union stage another walk out.
Members who work for Network Rail and 13 operators staged three days of strike action last month.
After rejecting a new pay offer, they are planning more strike action on July 27 as well as August 18 and 20.
On Wednesday, they will be running an extremely limited timetable, with no trains in Dumfries and Galloway. During the last strike, TransPennine Express ran no services in Scotland, while Avanti West Coast scaled back its services between Lockerbie and Glasgow and didn’t run any trains to Edinburgh.
