'Stop lying to us', fed-up Dalgety Bay commuters tell ScotRail bosses

Rail users in the town have had to put up with a catalogue of cancellations because of trains skipping the station in recent weeks. 

As part of our Crush Hour campaign, the Press reported last week that the 0815 service from the Bay had been cancelled seven times since November 28. 

ScotRail said that the service was overcrowded when it left Kirkcaldy and drivers were told to skip Kinghorn, Burntisland, Aberdour and Dalgety Bay and run directly to Inverkeithing. 

However, rail bosses were left red-faced when they had to admit that a virtually empty train on January 4 skipped stations because the service could “potentially” have been overcrowded. 

Press reporter Gemma Ryder spoke to commuters at Dalgety Bay on Monday morning to hear what they had to say about the current situation.

“Yes, I get on the magically-appearing 0815 train if it arrives,” said Peter Trimm, from Duloch. 

“It’s a broken train but suddenly it’s OK again when it gets to Inverkeithing. 

“There must be some sort of magic tunnel through here that gets it there. 

“We all make mistakes and running a train service can’t be easy but it’s the blatant lies that anger me.

“Just tell the truth and acknowledge that they’ve got their timetable wrong and that they’re using broken trains.”

Although ScotRail have said that overcrowding is a particular problem for the 0815 service to Edinburgh, when the train arrived at Dalgety Bay on Monday, most people had a seat and only a few people were standing beside each door. 

The Press’ Crush Hour campaign is calling for a better, more reliable service from ScotRail for West Fifers following reports from passengers that trains are consistently delayed, cancelled and overcrowded. 

Many parents have spoken about the stress of collecting children when relying on the Fife Circle line and mum Petra O’Neil, from Aberdour, is no exception. 

“I use both lines because my children go to school in Dunfermline,” she said. 

“The last couple of months have been particularly bad and the service has very much deteriorated.

“When I first started commuting in 2015, I think there was one night in the whole year where all the trains were cancelled because of the high winds.

“Things like that were an occurrence but it’s regular now. 

“Just before Christmas there were four times when I had to get a taxi because I have no choice but to get to my childcare on time. 

“When I go from Aberdour there are times when you’re waiting an hour because of a cancellation. 

“So, I’ve now made the decision when that happens just to get off at Inverkeithing and walk back to Aberdour. I understand that things go wrong like when the cables were stolen but they should be putting in measures to prevent this. 

“There are also cancellations when conductors have been delayed on other services. 

“The cost of using both lines is huge too – why can’t they put in a zoning system like London to make things easier?”

Student Elizabeth Hay, from Dalgety Bay, who travels by train three times a week, said that the 0815 was always delayed but she had never had any problems with cancellations. 

However, Paul Davis, from Dalgety Bay, said that a poor service was disrupting his life. 

“It’s dreadful,” he said. “You have to plan your whole day around the trains.

“From the moment you wake up, you have to see if you’re going to have to go for the earlier train.

“The timetable is terrible anyway, never mind after delays and cancellations.

“I’m regularly late for work and car-parking here is at capacity.”

Kate Dodds added: “It’s been really bad recently and the week before Christmas was horrendous.

“It’s really difficult because I have to get back for my kids. 

“It’s very obvious that they are passing through particular stations.”