ScotRail fined for failing to meet performance standards

ScotRail also received fines for passenger information and CCTV

ScotRail has been fined more than £250,000 for failing to meet strict standards for trains and stations.

New figures show that the franchise was hit with £265,282 in penalties between July and September.

ScotRail, which was taken over by operator Abellio in April, fell short in eight of 17 areas of station performance, and eight of 17 quality categories for trains.

These included toilets, litter, graffiti and seat reservation.

Cash penalties or rewards are issued by Transport Scotland on a quarterly basis, depending on ScotRail's performance against a benchmark set by the Service Quality Incentive Regime (Squire).

Since April, all collected fines have been reinvested in the rail network.

Reports were previously released on an annual basis but Transport Scotland is now making its quarterly reports available to the public.

A ScotRail spokeswoman said: "We are pleased to have achieved an overall average score of 93%, demonstrating that we are performing at an extremely high level.

"This new, tougher regime is about improving the customer experience at stations and on trains.

"The percentage targets in each category are mostly in the 80s and 90s and we remain absolutely committed to achieving these higher scores. We welcome the change that sees funds collected through Squire directly reinvested in the Scottish rail network."

Transport minister Derek Mackay said: "Through the Squire programme the Scottish Government is already engaged in one of the most rigorous and effective assessments of any rail franchise in the UK.

"We are pleased to be working with Abellio ScotRail to uphold and improve upon the high standards that we set ourselves by not only running a clean, efficient and safe rail network, but one that also offers unprecedented levels of transparency for the consumer."