The number of complaints that have been made about the Caledonian Sleeper since it was nationalised last year are already heading towards 1,000.
Nearly £1 million of compensation payments have also been paid out to disappointed passengers by the SNP-run rail service.
The Scottish Conservatives published new figures showing that 881 complaints were made, with a third about the upkeep and repair of the train, which came back into public ownership in June 2023.
Scottish Conservative transport spokeswoman Sue Webber said the figures suggested that the SNP’s nationalisation was “not going to plan” and “passengers were receiving a subpar service.”
A previous Freedom of Information response to the Scottish Conservatives also revealed that £965,672 has been paid out in compensation.
Scottish Conservative shadow transport secretary Sue Webber MSP said: “The SNP’s nationalisation of the Caledonian Sleeper is not going to plan.
“Just like SNP-run ScotRail, it looks like they have messed up the nationalisation of the Caledonian Sleeper as well.
“Passengers are receiving a sub-par service and as a result complaints have continued to pour in from them.
“Taxpayers have also had to foot the bill for nearly a million pounds in compensation payments, largely for delayed services.
“If the SNP want to get people out of their cars and onto public transport, then they must change their current approach.
“Common sense should tell them that passengers won’t put up with train services that continue to be costly and unreliable.”
Notes:
The Caledonian Sleeper came back into public ownership on 25 June 2023. Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop said the decision to take the service into public ownership came amidst “substantial uncertainty regarding future market conditions and the pace and impact of the [previous] UK government's rail reform process.” (BBC, 25 June 2023, link).
The Caledonian Sleeper paid out almost £1 million in compensation in its first year since nationalisation. The Scottish Conservatives found through Freedom of Information requests show that between 24 April, 2023 and 5 April, 2024, £965,672 was paid out to held-up passengers. (The Scotsman, 19 October 2024, link).
881 complaints have been made to the Caledonian Sleeper service since it came into public ownership in June 2023. 519 complaints were made between 25 June 2023 and 31 March 2024. 364 complaints were made between 1 March 2024 and 14 September 2024. (Scottish Conservative FOI, Available on request).
286 complaints were about the upkeep and repair of the train. 153 complaints about keep and repair were made between 25 June 2023 and 31 March 2024. 133 complaints about upkeep and repair were made between 1 March 2024 and 14 September 2024. (Scottish Conservative FOI, Available on request).
Other notable complaints included the reliability of the service, the attitude of the staff, the comfort of the seating area, and the complaints handling process itself. (Scottish Conservative FOI, Available on request).