RUSH-HOUR passengers on Scotland's busiest rail line have blasted ScotRail over "cattle truck" conditions after the service was slashed from six to three carriages.

Travellers complained that conditions onboard the 8am train from Glasgow Queen Street-Edinburgh Waverley became so overcrowded and hot on Tuesday that one passenger fainted.

The peak-time commuter service is one of the busiest on the network, but those using it today said it was standing room only.

 


 


Passenger Brian Cooper tweeted that the service was "like a cattle truck", describing it as "ridiculously overcrowded and hot".

Another passenger, Calum Leslie, added that "someone fainted in my carriage" and had to be given water and a seat by other people on the train.

The same incident was reported by another passenger travelling between Falkirk High and Edinburgh, who also blamed the episode on "overcrowding and heat."

 


 

ScotRail apologised "if service was uncomfortable", adding that all available carriages were being used across Scotland.

ScotRail said the Glasgow-Edinburgh train had been cut from six to three carriages shortly before departure due to a "train fault".

A spokeswoman for ScotRail said: “We understand that travelling on a busy train is uncomfortable for our customers and distribute our carriages to best meet demand.

“On this occasion, a train fault meant our 08:00 Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh service ran with less carriages than normal. We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused this morning.”

 

Passengers on a 7.51am service from Airdrie also complained that it had been cut from the normal six carriages to three.

 


 

A shortage of rolling stock was highlighted in October, when figures compiled by the Herald revealed that while passenger volumes had soared 35 per cent over the past decade, the increase in seating and standing capacity across ScotRail's entire fleet had risen by less than 10 per cent over the same period.

This was underlined by the experience on the new Borders Railway, which launched in September with two-carriage trains - sparking an outpouring of complaints from passengers left standing for the hour-long journey between Tweedbank and Edinburgh.

ScotRail subsequently lengthened most of the Borders trains to three- or four-carriage services, but this left commuters on other routes complaining that their capacity had been cut.

Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance - a partnership between ScotRail and Network Rail - said the operator would consider leasing additional trains if the current stock was unable to cope with demand.

Dutch firm Abellio, which took over ScotRail in April, has ordered nearly 100 new trains but the first will not arrive for another two years.