McInnes demands fair treatment for northern rail passengers

10.39.14am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 11th Jul 2008

Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson Alison McInnes MSP is writing to Crosscountry trains demanding that the company rethinks its decision to scrap onboard catering for services north of Edinburgh.

Crosscountry claim that their catering service is more beneficial for passengers travelling longer distances. According to Crosscountry, this "generally means beyond Edinburgh (going south)".

Mrs McInnes has written to Crosscountry urging them to reconsider this decision.

Commenting, Mrs McInnes said:

"Crosscountry's excuse for scrapping their onboard catering north of Edinburgh simply doesn't stack up. The company claims that passengers heading south from Edinburgh have longer journeys than those travelling to the north. But, the journey from Edinburgh to Aberdeen is almost three hours, hardly a quick trip.

"Passengers travelling to and from the North East should have the same options available to those passengers travelling in the central belt and to the south. It's a bit second rate for Crosscountry to refuse to provide catering for these journeys, or indeed for the first part of longer trips. Expecting passengers embarking on a rail trip from Aberdeen to Plymouth to wait until they reach Edinburgh for a cup of tea is, quite frankly, ridiculous.

"Crosscountry's decision comes at a time when rail companies should be trying to entice more people to choose the train over their car.

"Inconveniencing passengers like this won't encourage people to use trains for long distance travel. I have written to Crosscountry urging them to reconsider and reinstate onboard catering for passengers north of Edinburgh."