 We turn to our next item of business, which is topical questions, and our first question is from Murdoff Reiser. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the performance of Scotland's rail services and what action is being taken to improve provision. Cabinet Secretary, Michael Matheson. The on-going train cancellations and capacity challenges in the east of Scotland, particularly across Fife, are unacceptable to the Scottish Government and passengers alike. I made this very clear to Abelio ScotRail and Abelio's Dutch Government owners, with whom I met recently. A stress that action must be taken immediately to reduce the level of train cancellations and complete the driver training programme for the new and refurbished trains. Transport Scotland officials are also in daily contact with ScotRail senior management to monitor closely the training programme and review the anticipated train cancellations. I will meet Alex Hines tomorrow and seek further assurances that there is a strong focus on improving performance in the east of Scotland. Murdoff Reiser. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. As he pointed out, there has been a particular problem in Fife over the last few weeks and I have been contacted by many angry constituents raising concerns about the level of service cancellations. On the 16 April between 4 and 6.30 pm, no fewer than five Edinburgh to Fife services were cancelled at the peak commuter of time, leaving leading to what one constituent described to me as unsafe overcrowded conditions on one of the other trains. ScotRail claimed that cancellations are due to staff training, but is there any other provider of a public service that thinks that the only way that they can train staff is by cancelling the services that are available to the public and making the public unsafe as a result? Surely that is not acceptable behaviour. As I said in the chamber, on the number of occasions in recent times and also at the rec committee when we were considering the remedial plan, the performance that we have from ScotRail at present time in relation to cancellations, particularly in areas such as Fife, is unacceptable. The very reason that remedial notice was issued was because of the levels of cancellations on the Fife route. I fully expect ScotRail to implement all the actions that are set out within the remedial plan. They are now part of the franchise agreement to ensure that we start to see improvements being made. The member will be aware that there is a complex variety of reasons as to why ScotRail will find themselves in the situation around training with the late arrival of the refurbished and also the new rolling stock and also issues in relation to the way in which staffing and crew levels have been managed in the east of Scotland. Notwithstanding the issues, it is unacceptable. That is why they were issued with the remedial notice. I expect them to fully implement those so that those passengers in the Fife area and the east of Scotland see the benefits from the very significant investment that we are putting into rail in Scotland. I thank the cabinet secretary again for that further information. My constituents are fed up hearing excuses. We have been told for weeks and not months that services are going to improve, yet what they see are services that are deteriorating. One month ago, the First Minister said in the chamber that ScotRail was drinking in the last chance saloon. Why is the Scottish Government going to call last orders on that? The member will be aware that, if he is not in the remedial plan, there is a timeline for each of the actions that they must take, including additional recruitment of drivers and conductors and the completion of their training of staff. The training of staff is a key aspect that has an impact on commuters. The east of Scotland is due to be completed for the timetable change on 19 May. Transport Scotland in its engagement with ScotRail has been given assurances that ScotRail will still expect to complete that training programme in that timeframe, which will provide greater resilience in the east of Scotland, and passengers will see some improvements as a result of that. However, the wider improvements in the east of Scotland will not be realised until we have the implementation of the additional high-speed trains into the network and the wider introduction of the New Attachee 385 trains, which will allow for additional diesel rolling stock to be moved to the east of the country. That will then be affected by the timetable change in December of this year, which should produce significant benefits to the east of Scotland. However, notwithstanding that, in the short term, ScotRail is taking forward actions that they intend to focus on making sure that there are deliver improvements in the east of Scotland. I will make sure that, through my officials and my engagement with them, we maintain their focus on that very issue. Just to let the minister and members know that there are eight members who wish to ask supplementaries on this, all from different parts of the country, I imagine. We will try to get through at least as many as we can. Christine Grahame, to be followed by James Kelly. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I ask the cabinet secretary to meet more of it, Alec Hines, to raise the issue of cancellations on Easter Sunday on the borders railway when 15 scheduled train journeys were cancelled? For my constituents, another raw deal and no doubt losing potential tourists to Newton Grange mining museum, Melrose and its abbey and even Abbotsford. Back to that last chance saloon, forget last orders. How close is ScotRail now to the exit door of the last chance saloon? As I made very clear at the Wreck Committee, if there is one aspect of the remedial plan that is not implemented and fulfilled by ScotRail Abelio, it is in default of the franchise agreement, which can result in the franchise being removed from it. In relation to the particular cancellations that the member made reference to, Mr Fraser, they are of an unacceptable level. The reasons that have been given to me by ScotRail for that are a combination of staff leave and staff not taking up rest day working, which is why it is important that they recruit additional drivers and additional conductors, which is two of the key commitments that are set out in the remedial plan. However, that will take time to be delivered, but it is important that they continue to make progress in looking to address those issues as quickly as possible in order to ensure that the type of experience that Christine Grahame's constituents had on Easter Sunday are not experienced again in the future. With 27,000 cancellations in the last year, ScotRail service has become a shambles in a national embarrassment. Passengers are sick fed up of the delays and cancellations that affect their daily life. Meanwhile, the Government and the Cabinet Secretary sit on their hands. Is it not time that the Cabinet Secretary stepped in, stripped a belly off the contract and put in place a publicly-owned rail service that puts passengers first? First of all, I am surprised at Mr Kelly's question, because, as Mr Kelly will be aware, we do not have the power to set up a public sector rail service here in Scotland. It is a matter that is reserved to the UK Government. I hope that we now have the support of the Labour Party in Scotland to see changes to the railway act, which would allow us to look at a whole range of models on how we could deliver our rail services here in Scotland, including the public sector option, which is one that the Labour Party believes is the main way in which to address those matters. However, I certainly hope that that is now an indication that we have support from the Labour Party to see the full devolution of railway powers to this Scottish Parliament to allow us to have that opportunity. In that position, we will certainly look at taking forward what we think is the best option for Scotland railways. Liz Smith will be followed by Colin Beattie. Could the cabinet secretary tell us exactly how many qualified train drivers are we short in ScotRail? What are we going to do in the short run to ensure that those trains are able to run properly? If the member gives consideration to the remedial plan that she was issued by ScotRail, she will set out in there that they are recruiting an extra 55 new drivers in order to address the shortfall that they have at the present moment. That is a piece of work that they are undertaking at the present time, and they are advertising and recruiting at the present time. Alongside that, they are training some of the drivers that they have at the present moment to be able to operate additional fleet. Those who are trained in a particular fleet are also being trained to operate other trains in order to provide greater resilience within their existing complement. Alongside the 55 drivers that they are recruiting for the whole of the network, with a specific focus on the east, they are also recruiting some 30 additional conductors that will be in place by July of this year. The funding commitment that they have made to deliver on that is funding that has been delivered through Abelio ScotRail directly to them. That is the figures that ScotRail believes that they need to address the existing shortfall and to give them the resilience that they require within the existing complement of staff that they have alongside the additional training programme that they have in place for their drivers and conductors. Colin Beattie, to be filled by Clare Baker. Can the cabinet secretary give an indication of what percentage of delays over the past year are attributable to the Tory Government's shambolic operation of Network Rail? Members will be aware of some significant challenges that we have had in the east of Scotland that have been due to infrastructure failures, particularly outside Haymarket. Some of which have been repeated, which I have raised with Network Rail, asking them to give me assurance that not only are they repairing those particular faults but that they are taking forward the necessary infrastructure investment that is necessary to minimise the risk of these types of problems occurring again in the future, because they have caused significant disruption to the network, particularly in the east of the country. Overall, in the course of the past 12 months, 65.5 per cent of all delays on our network are due to infrastructure failures. As I have said in the chamber, on a number of occasions and also at committee, it is critical that both parts of our rail network are operating to the best of their ability to deliver passenger services, such as Network Rail and the ScotRail franchise. That is why it is important that we have overall control of both aspects of the rail system in Scotland to ensure that we are running it to the effect that reflects the needs of the people of Scotland. Clare Baker, to be followed by Alexander Stewart. I am sure that the cabinet secretary can now be in no doubt over the appalling service that five commuters are experiencing. The most fifers are being promised by ScotRail is that peak time services will return to normal, just normal, not be improved as a Christmas present. The franchise cannot continue, as people are persistently late for work. The economic impact on fifers cannot be undervalued. Does the cabinet secretary recognise that and will he reconsider the need for a fair cut for five services to compensate for this terrible service? I recognise that. That is the very reason why we issued a remedial notice to ScotRail because of the impact on services in the fifery area. That is why, within the remedial notice, they set out the range of actions that will be taken in order to address the very issues that are affecting Clare Baker's constituents. Alexander Stewart, to be followed by Stewart Stevenson. Cabinet Secretary, there is still real misery for commuters in my region of Mid Scotland Fife. They do not call it the rush hour going to work and coming home. They call it the crush hour because individuals are crammed into trains that are delayed or cancelled and only a number of carriages take place. What reassurances can I give to my constitution that this situation is going to improve because they see nothing but it getting worse and worse on a weekly basis? One of the things that we have been pressing ScotRail to ensure is that they are utilising all of the rolling stock that they have available to them, particularly in the east of Scotland. The biggest impact in being able to deliver the additional rolling stock that is needed for the east of Scotland is the late delivery of the high-speed trains, such as the HSTs from Labtech, and the late delivery of the 385s from Hitachi, which have their impact on being able to move the diesel rolling stock over to the east of the country. Once that is in place, that will free up that rolling stock to allow it to be moved in as well. As it stands at the present moment, there are approximately 11 high-speed trains in place in Scotland at the present moment. With the utilisation of those over the coming months, that will free up the diesel rolling stock that can then be moved into the Fife area, which will provide additional carriages for passengers in that area. To deal with the overcrowding problems that are being experienced, alongside the electrification of the shots that line into Glasgow, that will freeze up the diesel rolling stock, because we can now use 385 electric trains on that particular route. Once we have the full complement of those from Hitachi, which they now say will be delivered by the summer of August of this year, that will free up diesel rolling stock in that area, which again can be moved into the east of Scotland, into the borders and into Fife to provide the additional rolling stock that is necessary there. There has been a cascade of rolling stock that will take place, but it has been delayed and it is having an impact on passengers' experience at present time in the very way that the member rightly highlights, but that is in part due to the delays in some of the new rolling stock coming in to allow the freeing up of the diesel rolling stock to move to the east of the country. Stewart Stevenson, to be followed by Jackie Baillie. To what extent does the cabinet secretary hold angel trains and their contract with Wabtec accountable for the utterly desperately bad delivery of the HSTs to delivered in December when 17 were contracted to be refurbished by that date? As I have mentioned, there is absolutely no doubt that the late delivery of the HSTs had a significant impact in the ability of ScotRail to move some of its other rolling stock, the 170s in particular, into the east of Scotland, which is having a very adverse impact on passenger experiences in those areas. I have discussed this matter with the chair of and chief executive of angel trains. I have also discussed the matter with the global president in the states of Wabtec about the delay, which is unacceptable. It has provided me with assurances that it is doing everything that it can to try to move the issue forward. It is transferring some of the work up to Kilmarnock in order to try to speed up some of the refurbishment work that is due to be undertaken on the high-speed trains, but there is no doubt that that is having an impact, as is the late delivery of the HSTs, a matter that I raised when I discussed the matter with the global head of Hitachi in Japan, making it very clear that it is unacceptable that we are experiencing on-going delays in delivery of the brand-new rolling stock. Those are all having an impact on passengers' experience of what is a very significant level of investment that is going into a railways in Scotland. I want to see that realised sooner rather than later, and those companies are all a part to play in making sure that they deliver those trains as quickly as possible so that passengers get the benefit of that additional investment that they are making in Scotland's railways. Jackie Baillie, to be followed by Alex Cole-Hamilton. Cabinet Secretary, the problem is not confined to the east of Scotland. Performance in parts of the west of Scotland are at a record low. In March, trains arriving on time in Dumbarton 56 per cent, Ballach 48 per cent and Helensborough 42 per cent. For the avoidance of doubt, there is nothing to do with training of staff or indeed new rolling stock. When the trains do show up, three carriages instead of six are short-formed. Can the cabinet secretary tell me when we will see a marked improvement in the Helensborough and Ballach lines? On a specific issue, I will ask ScotRail to provide a direct answer to the improvements that will be made on that line. I can say to the member that she will be aware that the Donovan review set out a range of measures that had to be implemented to improve, particularly services on the west of Scotland. In some routes, we have saw marked improvements as a result, but in others we have not saw the full realisation of those. The reason for that is that all the recommendations from the Donovan review have not been implemented as yet. That has been monitored by the Office of the Road and Rail, which has said that ScotRail is making good progress with it, but there is more that still has to be done. I would expect to see the infrastructure improvements and the other timetable improvements that were recommended to start to deliver better and more reliable services in areas of the west of Scotland. As I said, on a very specific line that the member made, I will ask ScotRail to provide a member with a detailed response to that matter. The cabinet secretary and I have discussed many times the situation at Dalmenny station in my constituency, which is quite possibly the worst-effected by the ScotRail crisis. Just after Christmas, part of the problem of train cancellations was mitigated by putting in additional stop orders on the Aberdeen service coming south at rush hour times. However, I have challenged ScotRail several times to put that same stop order on Aberdeen bound trains leaving Waverly in the evening, but that is still not forthcoming. What pressure can the cabinet secretary apply to ScotRail to see that advanced stop order applied? In meeting with Alex Hynes tomorrow, I will ask him to address this very issue and to respond to the member specifically on the point that he has raised. I thank the cabinet secretary and members for getting through 10 more questions.