West of Scotland stations face most train cancellations in Scotland

Scottish Liberal Democrat West of Scotland MSP Jamie Greene has today called on the Transport Secretary to tackle the area’s unreliable rail service after new figures revealed that the top three Scottish stations which saw the greatest percentage of train services cancelled were all within the region.

Figure from Transport Scotland uncovered by Scottish Liberal Democrats reveal that:

• The three stations with the highest proportion of services cancelled were Helensburgh Central, Craigendoran and Cardross, with more than 1 in 20 services cancelled in the last financial year
• Dumbarton East and Dalreoch on the same line also make the top ten.
• Nationally, the worst month for rail service delays was October 2024, with just 45% of services arriving within 59 seconds of their scheduled arrival time and 84% arriving within 4mins 59 seconds of their scheduled arrival time.

Scottish Liberal Democrats recently revealed that:

• 17,491 trains were cancelled in the financial year 2024/25.
• 306,120 trains did not arrive within a minute of their scheduled arrival time. This is the equivalent of 45% of all trains.
• 71,691 trains were five minutes or more late. This is the equivalent of 10% of all trains.

Commenting on the figures, Jamie Greene said:

“Passengers are shelling out huge sums of money to travel by train, only to find that some services simply don’t arrive. For people here in the west of Scotland, that’s a source of endless frustration.

“It’s more than three years since the SNP government took over responsibility for Scotland’s trains. In that time, they have clobbered passengers with ticket hikes and done next to nothing to minimise disruption or overcrowding.  It’s a masterclass in how to make public transport as unattractive as possible.

“If we want to coax people out of their cars, that has to start with a service that runs on time.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats would deliver a public transport system that works for all communities, all ages and the climate. That’s why we want to see government working with councils to explore new lines, especially in areas where public transport links are poor, and new options for two/ three-day-a-week season tickets.

“I want to keep the pressure on ScotRail to deliver a service that is reliable and cost-effective for travellers.”