PASSENGER satisfaction with ScotRail is at a fourteen-year low — and some of the lowest levels of passenger satisfaction are to be found in the Strathclyde area, of which Greenock and Inverclyde are a part.

In their twice-yearly National Rail Passenger Survey, the independent passenger watchdog, Transport Focus, found that the proportion of passengers happy with ScotRail services had slumped.

Satisfaction with punctuality, reliability, the frequency of services, value-for-money, space and comfort, connections with other train services, toilet facilities and the upkeep and maintenance of trains was all down.

On every measure, passenger confidence with ScotRail was either flat-lining or falling. No discernible improvements registered in this survey at all.

Confidence in ScotRail has been rocked and I know from Tele reports and my own inbox that there have been particular issues with ScotRail services in the Inverclyde area too.

This is the only part of the country where newer, more modern trains have been removed to help with driver training elsewhere. 

ScotRail say the trains should return to service here next year but sceptical local commuters, who have already had to put up with too much, have their doubts.

In my experience, passengers first and foremost want to know that their train will be reliable, that it will turn up on time and that they will get a seat for the duration of their journey.

They want to know that the train will be clean and safe, that they can enjoy a basic level of comfort and that travelling by rail will be affordable.

Increasingly, passengers have quite rightly come to expect more modern facilities, access to Wi-Fi and up to date information about anything that affects how services are running.

It’s disappointing that the expectations so many Inverclyde passengers have for local rail services are not being met. Passengers are fed up with substandard services.

I have been pressing the Transport Minister for improvements — action on overcrowding, a turnaround in performance and a freeze on ScotRail fares — and I will keep up the pressure until we get results.

Passengers expect and deserve a modern, integrated, reliable rail service — and that’s exactly what I am fighting for on behalf of the people of Inverclyde.