In order to measure the effectiveness of operators in delivering a good service to our passengers, Transport Scotland measures two different facets of rail travel.
The quality of the equipment and stations is monitored as well as the reliability and punctuality of train services. By combining the results of these tests we are able to track continually how well our operator is delivering on its commitment to run the services on Scotland's rail network.
In addition to this ScotRail monitor their performance on service quality on trains and stations, complaints and CO2 emissions over a four weekly period. The latest results are available from the ScotRail website.
Service Quality
The Service Quality Incentive Regime (SQUIRE) monitors and measures the quality of customer services provided by the franchise operator, First ScotRail. To do this, Transport Scotland inspectors regularly check the service quality of ScotRail's train and station facilities.
The SQUIRE regime is one of the toughest performance regimes in the UK with many of the target levels set at 90% or higher.
SQUIRE inspectors audit 342 stations and approximately 200 trains every four weeks. Service areas inspected range from graffiti, toilets and timetables to train cleanliness, staff service and the public address system. There are 36 service quality areas inspected under this regime. These are referred to as service schedules.
The inspections cover all stations in Scotland, with the exception of Prestwick International Airport, Lockerbie, Dunbar and parts of Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central Station, as ScotRail is not the lead operator at these stations.
Performance results are published quarterly and can be shown by station, by train, or by line of route.
ScotRail is financially incentivised to better the targets set and receives financial penalties for areas which fail to reach these targets.
Network Rail operates a performance regime that measures the reliability and punctuality of train services. Performance indicators are used to measure the proportion of timetabled services that actually run (reliability) and the proportion of services that run on time (punctuality). The combination of these two indicators is known as the Public Performance Measure (PPM). The PPM is also used to compare the performance of train operating companies across the UK.
Under the franchise agreement, ScotRail is required to improve performance by reducing delay minutes by two per cent every year. First ScotRail has exceeded this target since it took over the franchise.
The public-performance-measure (PPM) moving-annual-average (MAA) for on-time performance (that is, over the last twelve months) is as follows:
More up-to-date results can be sourced directly from Network Rail's site, where the data is updated every four weeks.
Comparative information for the rail industry in Britain can be found at:
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