DISRUPTIONS on the Cardenden to Edinburgh route were among the Fife Circle problems raised at a meeting between MSPs and ScotRail on Thursday.

Claire Baker MSP joined other Fife MSPs in meeting the Transport Minister and Alex Hynes, the Managing Director of ScotRail, to discuss commuters' complaints about the services on the Fife Circle line which includes this area's stations, Cardenden, Lochgelly and Cowdenbeath.

This meeting came ahead of a planned Facebook Live event that Claire Baker will be hosting with ScotRail.

Originally the event was due to take place on March 5 but was cancelled as a result of the extreme weather hitting the country.

A new date has been set and Claire Baker will now quiz ScotRail’s Chief Operating Officer, Angus Thom, and Head of Integrated Control, Mark Ilderton, at lunchtime this Friday March 23.

This week ScotRail announced that in a 4-week period up until March 3, trains missed 138 scheduled stops, averaging at 34 stops a week, or 5 a day.

Previously the Kelty born Scottish Labour MSP Mid Scotland and Fife, revealed that out of 940 peak time trains between Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy late last year, there were 434 disruptions. At the same time there was 286 peak time disruptions to ScotRail services between Cardenden and Edinburgh.

These disruptions included late running services, cancellations, failures to stop and the short forming of services.

Any questions for the Facebook Live event should be emailed to Claire.Baker.MSP@Parliament.Scot with ScotRail as the subject, or posted on her Facebook page.

Speaking after the meeting Claire Baker MSP said: “I appreciated the opportunity to highlight the many concerns that have been raised with me regarding ScotRail’s service in Fife.

“As someone who regularly uses the service to get from Fife to the Parliament, I know first-hand the disruptions that commuters from the Kingdom are facing.

“It is easy to look at the number of disruptions as figures that can go up or down over any given period. However, for everyday commuters these are real inconveniences to their day.

“We are talking about being late for work, missing meetings, failing to get back in time for childcare, and having to stand in overcrowded, potentially unsafe, trains.

“My Parliamentary inbox is regularly full of complaints from commuters across Fife and has been for a number of years.

“We need to ensure that commuters in Fife are not being short-changed, and I know many feel that they are receiving a second class service compared to other parts of the central belt.

“That is why I am urging commuters to get in touch and use my Facebook live event as the perfect opportunity to raise their issues and concerns with those at the top of the organisation. It is vital that they get the answers they deserve.”