During late July and early August 2021, a series of extreme weather events affected the network in Scotland, but Scotlands Railway rose to the challenge and maintaining their excellent punctuality figures.
Records from the 25th of July to the 21st of August saw 90.8% of ScotRail trains fulfil the rail industry standard public performance measure which is also known as PPM. Trains were recorded during this period as arriving within at least 5 minutes of their scheduled time and also having called at every station on the route.
ScotRail’s moving annual average, which is also known as MAA and is used for recording punctuality throughout the year, is currently sitting at a very positive 92.4%. Given the extreme weather, such as severe rain and thunderstorms experienced in Scotland of late, it is a great result for the network.
19 Regional flood alerts were given by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency at the end of July and further alerts were in place throughout Scotland for the weekend of the 6th to the 8th of August. The storms meant the operator needed to add speed restriction in many areas such as between Dingwall and Strathcarron, Culloden and Inverness, Elgin and Keith, Forres and Inverness, Perth and Blair Atholl and Glasgow Queen Street and Croy.
The terrible rain at the end of July was labelled ‘a severe weather event’ by fire chiefs and meteorological experts with some parts of Scotland seeing a quarter of the normal monthly rainfall in an hour during the dreadful weather from the 6th to the 7th of August.
Flooding affected many areas in Scotland and Network Rail were faced with managing five feet of water inside the twin tunnels at Dalmuir which is situated northwest of Glasgow on the route from Yoker.
David Simpson, ScotRail Operations Director, said: “I am delighted that we have managed to keep nine out of ten trains running on time, despite being faced by very challenging weather conditions.
“It’s a reflection of the hard work and dedication of all of our colleagues right across Scotland’s Railway as we continue to provide customers with the high level of service they deserve.
“Our proposed new timetable for 2022, which is currently up for public consultation, aims to build on our excellent recent successes as we aim to make Scotland’s Railway fit for the future.”
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