Rail operator fined for standards

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First ScotRail has been fined nearly £500,000 in the past six months for failing to meet standards on trains and at stations, according to new figures.

Inspectors handed out fines for the state of train toilets and for dirty stations on Scotland's rail network, the Transport Scotland figures showed.

Other missed benchmarks related to information displays on trains and public announcements at stations.

The company was fined £473,519 from the period 10 December to 23 June.

First ScotRail was fined a similar amount in January for a dip in performance.

Inspectors looked at 13 areas over the last six months, four of which were below standard.

Litter and contamination

Six areas on trains were inspected, and two missed their targets - train toilets and destination and passenger information displays.

Train toilets got an average score of 82% over the six-month period - well below the recommended benchmark of 99%.

Of the seven areas inspected on stations, litter and contamination and public announcements fell below the benchmark.

In litter and contamination, the company scored only 76%, compared to a benchmark of 95%.

Transport Scotland defended the inspection results, saying the benchmarks were kept high to keep the quality of service at a good level.

A spokeswoman said: "The benchmarks are consistently high. This is recognised as one of the toughest regimes in the UK.

"We would look to build on those performances and those results."

All 340 First ScotRail stations and trains on all of the franchise's routes were inspected.