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There have been calls for TransPennine Express to be stripped of the West Coast Main Line franchise.
Passengers using the operator to get to and from Lockerbie have been hit by frequent cancellations in recent years. And that continued at the weekend, with some services cancelled or terminated early.
Rail users also had to use coaches to get to and from Carlisle due to maintenance work on the line.
Scotland’s Transport Minister, Jenny Gilruth, is due to discuss issues when she meets the UK’s rail minister Wendy Morton next week.
In Holyrood, South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said: “This is the worst train service in Britain, and there is a fair bit of competition for that title.
“The problems are not new – passengers from Lockerbie station have been treated as second class since the franchise began.
“When the minister meets her UK counterpart, will she join me in calling for an end to the failed franchise and for it to be brought under new management?”
Ms Gilruth said she would raise some of the issues experienced by Mr Smyth’s constituents.
The Transport Minister was also pushed on the matter by South Scotland SNP MSP Emma Harper, inset, who wanted to know what discussions Holyrood has had with rail operators over the issues “impacting travellers using rail services at Lockerbie station”, which is serviced by both TransPennine Express and Avanti West Coast.
Ms Gilruth said: “For the first part of this year, TransPennine Express services in particular have been impacted by Covid-related issues and industrial action.
“However, recent performance data shows an improvement since February. I can advise that TransPennine Express has increased calls at Lockerbie from this week and is, broadly, offering customers an hourly service northwards and southwards on weekdays.”
Ms Harper believed the best way to “provide certainty to passengers” would be for rail to be fully devolved.
She added: “Passengers need assurance that services will be available and on time.”
Ms Gilruth said full devolution was a long-stated aim of the government “as it would bring track and train together and ensure that we have the levers that we need to create a sustainable rail service in the future”.
She added: “I will raise the issue directly with the United Kingdom rail minister when I meet her next week, and officials will follow up with operators about what we can do to help to improve on people’s recent experience of the services.”
