Railways minister Jenny Gilruth admitted train journeys in Fife take too long as she revealed her own commuting frustrations.
The SNP government politician accepted there are problems on the Fife Circle while being quizzed on the country’s train network at her party’s conference in Aberdeen.
Ms Gilruth said her journeys from Cupar to Edinburgh used to be less than an hour, but can now take up to 85 minutes.
The transport minister admitted many Fife locals would be quicker using the car for some trips and said she regularly reminds ScotRail bosses of her own travel woes.
‘There is an issue’
She said: “I take the train every week and I know that there is an issue on the Fife line.
“There is an issue on the Fife circle so for that reason, a few weeks ago in my regular catchup with ScotRail, I raised it with them.
“The transport minister regularly reminds them of her commute and how long the journeys are taking.”
Ms Gilruth said ScotRail had cut back on the number of services they offer across Scotland due to passenger numbers falling during the pandemic.
However, she said the train operating firm could have done more to consult with customers before journeys were slashed.
The SNP minister said: “I wasn’t very happy about the way in which ScotRail went about this for my constituency.
“There are issues around about how people were consulted over the May timetable.”
In July, campaigners in Fife warned against longer term cuts to local services.
Ms Gilruth said: “During the pandemic there were less people on the trains.
“Since that happened we have had a bigger shift back to rail. We’re now at around 70%, so it does need to be looked at.”
Strike chaos
The SNP brought ScotRail into public ownership in April.
Over summer, the country was hit by strikes.
Nicola Sturgeon’s party has frozen rail fares until next March due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Ms Gilruth said she was “sympathetic” to the idea of scrapping expensive peak rail fares altogether.
But she warned the government had already been forced to heavily subsidised ScotRail before it was nationalised.
