Almost 17,500 ScotRail services were cancelled in the past year, according to figures released under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. The data, obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats, shows 17,491 train journeys were scrapped in the 2024/25 period, raising concerns about the reliability of Scotland’s publicly owned rail network.
The FOI report also revealed that punctuality remains a major issue. More than 300,000 trains—accounting for 45% of all services—failed to arrive within a minute of their scheduled time. Additionally, over 71,000 trains were delayed by five minutes or more, representing about 10% of all journeys.
Jamie Greene, the Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesman, criticised the government’s handling of the rail network since nationalisation:
“When it is done right, train travel is swift, reliable and reduces traffic on our roads. Unfortunately these figures show that a considerable number of passengers are shelling out huge sums of money to travel by train, only to find that some services simply don’t arrive. It’s more than three years since the SNP Government took over responsibility for Scotland’s trains but we are still seeing tens of thousands of trains cancelled or running late. If we want to coax people out of their cars, that has to start with a service that runs on time.”
The figures come as ScotRail has faced repeated criticism over service reliability since being brought under public ownership in April 2022. In the two years since nationalisation, almost 27,500 services have been cancelled, with the latest annual figure marking a continued trend of disruption.
Mark Ilderton, ScotRail’s service delivery director, said: “ScotRail operates more than 2,100 services every day, with around nine out of 10 of those services meeting the punctuality target, getting customers to where they need to be.
Cancellations can be for a number of reasons, many of them outside the control of ScotRail, but represented less than 3% of more than 650,000 services we operate across the country over the course of the year.
“We know how frustrating it is when a service is cancelled or delayed, and that is why everyone at ScotRail is working hard to deliver the safe and reliable railway that our customers expect and deserve, and to encourage more people to travel by train instead of using the car.”
Highlighting positive feedback from users, Ilderton added: “With more than nine out of 10 customers satisfied with our service according to Transport Focus, the independent watchdog for transport users, it’s testament to the hard work of ScotRail staff in delivering a safe, reliable and green railway.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson added: “These cancellations for the period reported represent 2.1% of all ScotRail services.”
The Scottish Government has been urged to work more closely with ScotRail to address the ongoing issues. Greene added that improving punctuality and reducing cancellations is essential if the government hopes to encourage more people to use public transport.
