By Alex Hynes, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance

LAST month I took over as the managing director of the ScotRail Alliance. The Alliance is a coming together of Network Rail, responsible for Scotland’s railway network, and ScotRail, the operator of the trains that run on that network.

Just a few weeks into the job I experienced first-hand the somewhat confused way Scotland’s railway can be perceived. One media headline reported that the performance of the ScotRail Alliance was the best it had been for two years, with 95 per cent of trains running on time. But a different headline in another publication said that our performance was unacceptable.

One day, two very different headlines. Where does the truth lie?

Yesterday, the National Rail Passenger Survey gave us the answer. This survey is the most authoritative and independent assessment of what railway passengers think about the service they receive, conducted by Transport Focus.

These are the passengers who travel on our trains every day, to get to and from work, travel for business, or travel for pleasure. They experience the ups and downs that inevitably come with travelling on a busy network.

Overwhelmingly, our customers are pleased with the job we are doing. The National Rail Passenger Survey results showed that nine out of 10 passengers are satisfied with our service. That’s a substantial increase from our autumn 2016 results, and is a strong endorsement of the work of our dedicated staff across the network.

The detail of the survey results shows further good news. Customers are generally satisfied with the punctuality and reliability of our service. But we will never be complacent, and there remains work to do in some areas. Although there is considerably increased satisfaction with the way we respond to delays, particularly the way we communicate information to passengers during times of disruption, there is a lot of room for improvement here.

Of course the views of the media, politicians and others are important. But ultimately the ScotRail Alliance exists to serve its customers, the people who travel on our trains. To achieve a satisfaction rating of 90 per cent at a normal time is a remarkable achievement. To do so while we are also delivering the largest programme of improvements to our railways since Victorian times makes it even more impressive. The improvements we are making will help us to build the best railway Scotland has ever had. The electrification of the Glasgow to Edinburgh route and brand new state of the art trains will mean faster journeys, more seats and better services for customers.

These are modern trains, with greater space, more plug sockets, free Wi-Fi, more accessible toilets and other great features. Customers will enjoy smoother journeys on cleaner trains.

The new trains will start running later this year, initially on the soon to be electrified line between Glasgow and Edinburgh before being rolled out in North Berwick, Cumbernauld, Neilston, Cathcart, Lanark and Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs next year.

The new trains are just one element of the changes we are making. From station upgrades to new High Speed Trains connecting Scotland’s seven cities, to the expansion of free Wi-Fi at our stations and on our trains, we have listened to our customers and are delivering what they have asked for.

At the ScotRail Alliance we are accountable first and foremost to our customers. Now they have told us they are pleased with what we are doing. That’s a positive platform for us to build on.