It’s “only a matter of time” before someone becomes seriously ill on a crowded Fife ScotRail service, according to one fed-up commuter.
Last week it emerged a first aider had to scramble over tables in a packed carriage to help a passenger who’d taken ill.
It is not an isolated incident according to journalist Tom Freeman, who has watched conditions deteriorate since he started commuting from Dunfermline in 2014.
Last week he saw a man fainting on an Edinburgh-bound train.
This was after two six-carriage trains were cancelled and the next had only three carriages.
Tom said: “It was so busy that when he fainted he didn’t even fall over, he slumped against the woman next to him who called for help.”
Luckily, he rallied, but Tom added: “Sadly though, these incidents are getting more common.”
Unlike bigger stations, those using Dunfermline and Rosyth are “beholden” to ScotRail “and it has really let us down”.
As Dunfermline grows, the service has not kept up, he said.
“Since ScotRail entered its crisis mode last year I’ve been increasingly worried about safety.
“I have seen several people fall ill because of overcrowding, including two incidents of someone leaving at South Gyle on a stretcher, one lady having to get off at Inverkeithing on a wheelchair because she as finding it hard to breathe, and another lady fainting as she got off at Dunfermline Town.”
Last year, a young man fainted during morning rush hour and hit his head on the side of a table.
As he was bleeding, someone pulled the emergency cord. Luckily there was a first aider nearby but because the train was so crowded the crew “took ages” to get to the scene.
An ambulance was waiting at Inverkeithing, but in another twist the crews seemingly didn’t know how to reset the emergency cord as the trains are so old.
“I’m thankful that no one appears to have been taken seriously ill yet, but surely it’s only a matter of time,” he added.
Rush hour trains are regularly cancelled, but subsequent services don’t carry additional carriages to compensate, he claimed.
“ScotRail tell me again and again that safety is their top priority.
“But train cancellations are exactly what is making this situation unsafe in the first place.”
A ScotRail spokesperson said it was not possible to check the incidents given there were no dates.
He added: “We know that some of our customers in Fife have been frustrated by the service they have received from us in recent months.
“Our performance hasn’t been good enough, we understand that, but things are improving.”
The ScotRail Alliance was working flat out to deliver improvements and was confident the investment being made would help give customers the service they deserve.
