Key rail service restored

Rail passengers should have an easier ride

ScotRail bosses say the re-introduction of their flagship service between Glasgow and Edinburgh has gone smoothly.

On Wednesday morning trains began running between the cities every 15 minutes, and journey times were restored to their normal 50 minute duration.

The service was severely disrupted following the fatal crash in Hatfield, England, last October.

Speed restrictions introduced by Railtrack forced ScotRail to reduce the service to half hourly and at one point to hourly.

Track repair work has been largely completed

There was further misery for thousands of commuters when a landslip and flooding caused more delays and cancellations.

A spokesman for ScotRail confirmed things had gotten back to normal on Wednesday.

He said the trains were very busy during the peak hour period and most completed the journey in the target time of 48 minutes.

But the service was hit by several delays after a train from Perth to Glasgow Queen Street experienced engine trouble.

ScotRail also confirmed that the London to Glasgow and Edinburgh sleeper trains are running but taking much longer than usual.

However a spokesman said the firm must wait for rail repairs between London and Carlisle before it can restore the full service to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William.

He added he was hopeful of services running to timetable within weeks rather than months.