East of Scotland

Here are the consultation outcomes for our East of Scotland routes...

In the Fit for the Future consultation, ScotRail did not propose to make significant changes to the level of service between Edinburgh and North Berwick or between Edinburgh and Dunbar in May 2022. The Saturday timetable was proposed to remain as one train per hour, but this will be subject to review in future timetables.

ScotRail received 45 responses from customers who travel on services between Edinburgh, North Berwick, and Dunbar. This compares to 81,000 passenger trips per month along the route in 2019. The most frequently mentioned topics were frequency and capacity, with specific mentions of the first train into Edinburgh in the morning and off-peak time services into Edinburgh.

Following the consultation, ScotRail will implement the Fit for the Future timetable in May 2022 with no change to the level of service that was proposed for the route between Edinburgh, North Berwick, and Dunbar. The Saturday timetable will continue to provide one or two trains per hour until there is a sufficient number of drivers who have completed their training, which was impacted by COVID restrictions through 2020 and 2021, to operate two trains per hour during the day. Average seating occupancy on this route on a typical weekday in 2019 was 20 per cent of seat miles provided, and with the same level of demand applied to the May 2022 timetable, that would remain the same at 20 per cent.

In the Fit for the Future consultation, ScotRail proposed to continue to provide two trains per hour between Edinburgh and Tweedbank during peak hours with one train per hour for the rest of the day. However, it was proposed that through services between Tweedbank, South Gyle, and Glenrothes with Thornton will all terminate or start at Edinburgh Waverley. The Saturday timetable was proposed to increase to provide two trains per hour during the day.

ScotRail received 434 responses from customers who travel on services between Edinburgh and Tweedbank. This compares to 74,000 passenger trips per month along the route in 2019. The most frequently mentioned topics were frequency (59 per cent) and capacity (14 per cent). There were specific comments about the time of the first arrival at Edinburgh and the frequency of services at the end of the traditional evening peak period.

Following the consultation, ScotRail are making a change to Fit for the Future timetable in May 2022 and will operate two trains per hour during the day, rather than just in peak periods. Average seating occupancy on this route on a typical weekday in 2019 was 24 per cent of seat miles provided, and with the same level of demand applied to the May 2022 timetable, that would reduce to 22 per cent. Most services on this route will operate with six carriages during peak periods and three carriages outside these times. The reintroduction of two trains per hour during the day will be on a trial basis only to test how quickly off-peak demand recovers and grows beyond pre-pandemic levels. The time of the first service from Tweedbank to Edinburgh will be reviewed for the December 2022 timetable, however the operation of an additional service is subject to there being sufficient traincrew available.

In the Fit for the Future consultation, ScotRail proposed to introduce a new timetable between Edinburgh, Fife, Perth, and Dundee with the following services:

  • One train per hour between Edinburgh and Dundee calling at all stations via Kirkcaldy.
  • One train per hour between Edinburgh and Perth calling at all stations via Dunfermline.
  • One train per hour between Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy calling at all stations via Kinghorn. These services could be extended to Leven when the Levenmouth branch reopens. One train per hour between Edinburgh and Glenrothes with Thornton calling at all stations via Dunfermline. These services could be extended to Leven when the Levenmouth branch reopens.

ScotRail received 521 responses from customers who travel on services between Edinburgh, Fife, Perth, and Dundee. The most frequently mentioned topics were frequency (39 per cent) and journey time (38 per cent). Specific comments were received regarding changes to direct journey opportunities and covered both new ones provided by the timetable and loss of existing ones. Further comments were received about the reduction in the number of services calling at North Queensferry and Dalmeny.

Following the consultation, ScotRail are making several changes to the Fit for the Future timetable between Edinburgh, Fife, Perth, and Dundee for May 2022. Services between Edinburgh and Perth will go via Kirkcaldy and call at all stations, except North Queensferry and Dalmeny. Services between Edinburgh and Dunfermline will terminate at either Glenrothes with Thornton or Cowdenbeath, with all trains calling at North Queensferry and Dalmeny. This will reduce the average journey time between Perth, Ladybank, Markinch, and Edinburgh, and maintains a direct service between Perth and Kirkcaldy. However, it also means that we will not be able to provide direct services between Dunfermline and Perth and will not be able to provide two trains per hour all day at Lochgelly, Cardenden, and Glenrothes with Thornton. All other stations on the Fife Circle will continue to receive at least two trains per hour during the day to Edinburgh. The potential passenger demand at North Queensferry and Dalmeny does not warrant an increased frequency compared to the rest of Fife. These stations will have two services per hour during the daytime with up to four per hour in peak periods.

Specific comments were received regarding the journey time and frequency of services between Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh. Following this, we carried out a review of service levels and population between Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline. When comparing the level of service between Dunfermline and Edinburgh, and between Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh, Kirkcaldy has traditionally had four trains per hour (two fast and two stopping), whereas Dunfermline was consistent with the rest of Fife in having two stopping services per hour. Despite this disparity in service level, slightly more customers travelled to Edinburgh each day from Dunfermline than Kirkcaldy and, overall, both towns had almost identical numbers of annual rail trips per head of population. It should also be noted that upon opening of the Queensferry Crossing, passenger demand at both stations reduced by just over 100,000 journeys per year, despite Dunfermline being much more accessible to the motorway network. As such, we are not proposing to provide additional limited services between Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh during the day.

The timetable will be subject to further review as part of the reopening of the Levenmouth branch. There is a further opportunity to review the timetable for Edinburgh to Fife, Perth, and Dundee as part of the delivery of the first phase of the Decarbonisation Action Plan, which will see local services in Fife operated by new, faster, battery-electric trains. Services on this route will also be further reviewed as part of the Perth-Dundee-Aberdeen Rail Corridor Enhancements and the Edinburgh/Glasgow-Perth/Dundee Rail Corridor Enhancements proposed in the draft Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 (STPR2) , published by Transport Scotland.

In the Fit for the Future consultation, ScotRail proposed to deliver a regular timetable with the following services:

  • One train per hour between Glasgow and Dundee calling at all stations between Stirling and Dundee. This service allows calls to be removed from Inter7City services at stations such as Invergowrie and Gleneagles.
  • One train per hour between Dundee and Arbroath, with a morning peak direct journey opportunity from Angus and east Dundee to Perth, and an evening peak direct journey opportunity from Perth to east Dundee and Angus.

The proposed timetable would offer better connectivity between Dundee and Glasgow with a more frequent service between the four cities on the corridor, offering a regular hourly service for the smaller intermediate communities.

ScotRail received 81 responses from customers who travel on services between Glasgow, Perth, Dundee, and Arbroath. The most frequently mentioned topic was frequency (73 per cent), and specific comments were received about changes to the number of services calling at Invergowrie, gaps in the evening service between Glasgow and Dunblane, and connections between local services at Dundee.

Following the consultation, ScotRail will implement the Fit for the Future timetable in May 2022 with no significant change to the level of service that was proposed for the route between Glasgow, Perth, Dundee, and Arbroath. Additional station calls will be added to evening Inter7City services between Glasgow and Aberdeen to fill the gap in service between Glasgow, Bridge of Allan, and Dunblane. Unfortunately, it will not be possible at this stage to operate the proposed additional 06:40 from Glasgow to Aberdeen service due to resource constraints.

For the December 2022 timetable, ScotRail will explore how to improve connections between local services at Dundee. Services on this route are being reviewed as part of the Aberdeen to Central Belt Enhancement Project , which is expected to deliver improvements in 2026, and as part of the Perth-Dundee-Aberdeen Rail Corridor Enhancements and the Edinburgh/Glasgow-Perth/Dundee Rail Corridor Enhancements proposed in the Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 (STPR2) , published by Transport Scotland.

In the Fit for the Future consultation, ScotRail proposed that the May 2022 timetable would provide two trains per hour between Edinburgh and Dunblane during the day calling at all stations and then one train per hour in the evenings. With the Edinburgh to Dunblane services calling at Linlithgow and Polmont, the Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street via Cumbernauld service would no longer operate in full, reducing the number of services on this corridor, providing an opportunity for performance to improve.

ScotRail received 259 responses from customers who travel on services between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane. This compares to 601,000 passenger trips per month in 2019, including 142,000 passenger trips per month between Edinburgh, Stirling, and Dunblane. The most frequently mentioned topics across the route between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane were frequency (49 per cent), journey time (19 per cent), and changes to direct journey opportunities (20 per cent), Specific comments were received about the reintroduction of station calls at Polmont and Linlithgow in daytime services between Dunblane, Stirling, and Edinburgh, which would provide direct journey opportunities for some customers whilst increasing journey times for other journeys.

Following the consultation, ScotRail will implement the Fit for the Future timetable in May 2022 with no significant change to the level of service that was proposed for the route between Dunblane, Stirling, and Edinburgh. Average seating occupancy on this route on a typical weekday in 2019 was 21 per cent of seat miles provided, and with the same level of demand applied to the May 2022 timetable, that would increase to 27 per cent. Demand on this corridor is not expected to justify the cost of running more services in the short to medium term, and without running more services, it is not possible to remove calls from the Dunblane to Edinburgh services. Journey times between Dunblane, Stirling, and Edinburgh will continue to be reviewed through the normal timetable planning process. As demand increases and new travel behaviours become apparent, we will monitor available capacity and identify how additional capacity can be provided in a cost-effective manner if required.

In the Fit for the Future consultation, ScotRail proposed that the May 2022 timetable would continue to provide two trains per hour during the day, with one train per hour in the evening between Glasgow, Stirling, and Alloa, however, services that previously terminated at Dunblane would be diverted to Alloa. A more frequent service between Glasgow and Dundee calling at Bridge of Allan and Dunblane would give these communities a regular hourly service to Glasgow. Additional peak capacity for Bishopbriggs, Lenzie, and Croy would be provided through Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High services.

ScotRail received 259 responses from customers who travel on services between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Alloa, and Dunblane. This compares to 601,000 passenger trips per month in 2019, including 140,000 passenger trips per month between Glasgow, Stirling, Alloa, and Dunblane. The most frequently mentioned topics across the route between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane were frequency (49 per cent), journey time (19 per cent), and changes to direct journey opportunities (20 per cent), Specific comments were received about gaps in the evening service between Glasgow and Dunblane.

Following the consultation, ScotRail will implement the Fit for the Future timetable in May 2022 with no significant change to the level of service that was proposed for the route between Glasgow, Stirling, and Alloa. Additional station calls will be added to evening Inter7City services between Glasgow and Aberdeen to fill the gap in service between Glasgow, Bridge of Allan, and Dunblane. Average seating occupancy on this route on a typical weekday in 2019 was 19 per cent of seat miles provided, and with the same level of demand applied to the May 2022 timetable, that would reduce to 18 per cent due to a planned increase in off-peak capacity. As demand increases and new travel behaviours become apparent, we will seek to ensure that sufficient capacity is provided in a cost-effective manner.

In the Fit for the Future consultation, ScotRail did not propose to make significant changes between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh via Shotts from the May 2021 timetable. The May 2022 timetable would continue to provide one or two trains per hour on the route via Shotts. On the route between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh via Carstairs, we were proposing to reintroduce the most popular services.

ScotRail received 611 responses from customers who travel on services between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh via Shotts and Carstairs. This compares to 106,000 passenger trips per month along the route in 2019. The most frequently mentioned topic was frequency (36 per cent) and there were specific comments about the lack of service between Carluke, Carstairs and Edinburgh in the late morning.

The May 2022 timetable for services between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh via Shotts and Carstairs is constrained by the number of available train drivers. traincrew available, so the Fit for the Future timetable will be implemented with only one change to the proposed level of services, with an additional morning peak service between Carstairs and Glasgow Central. The Fit for the Future proposal to reinstate the 11:46 from Glasgow Central to Edinburgh via Carluke and Carstairs and the 15:50 from Edinburgh to Glasgow Central via Carstairs and Carluke is the best compromise when considering how busy these services are and how efficient these services are to operate compared with other services given the traincrew resource constraints.

For the December 2022 timetable, ScotRail expect to have a sufficient number of drivers who have completed their training, which was impacted by COVID restrictions through 2020 and 2021, to enable the operation of a more frequent service between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh via Carstairs and Shotts. The timetable is still being developed, but it is expected that the December 2022 timetable will offer six to seven trains per day in each direction via Carstairs and a small number of additional services via Shotts.

Further enhancements to the timetable, including a more frequent service between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh via Shotts, will be explored for May 2023.

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