LOCAL MP WRITES TO SCOTRAIL OVER TIMETABLE CHANGES

Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie has written to ScotRail over timetable changes due to come into effect in December that will mean no more peak time trains from Aberdeen will stop at Carnoustie.

At present the following trains from Aberdeen stop at Carnoustie station:

16.02 departing Aberdeen, stops at Carnoustie at 17.02 17.36 departing Aberdeen, stops at Carnoustie at 18.39 18.28 departing Aberdeen, stops at Carnoustie at 19.33 * 20.09 departing Aberdeen, stops at Carnoustie at 21.07

From the timetable change in December, the service will be as follows:

* 16.00 departing Aberdeen, stops at Carnoustie at 17.06 * 19.16 departing Aberdeen, stops at Carnoustie at 20.16

This means that for 3 hours during what is considered to be “peak time” there will be no services stopping at Carnoustie. Commuters will instead have to alight at Arbroath and wait 10 minutes for the service to Carnoustie.

In his letter to Alex Hynes, Chief Executive of ScotRail, Stewart Hosie MP said:

“Waiting 10 minutes for the next train may not seem like such a burden, especially when passengers headed to Carnoustie will reach their destination at the same time as they would under the current timetables, but having to rely on another train to get home from Arbroath can present a whole range of difficulties and problems such as delays and cancellations.”

Mr Hosie therefore called on ScotRail to reconsider their new timetables to ensure commuters aren’t inconvenienced in the future.

Commenting Stewart Hosie MP said:

“I understand that for my constituents in Carnoustie who commute to and from Aberdeen each day these changes are worrying.”

“People want to get home from work as soon as possible and these changes can present a number of difficulties such as last-minute delays and cancellations to the Arbroath – Carnoustie service and with winter just around the corner no one wants to have to alight from a service and wait out in the cold for 10 minutes, or possibly longer, for their next train.”

“I hope that ScotRail will take these concerns into consideration and reconsider and amend their proposed timetable changes to better service my constituents in Carnoustie.”

ENDS