THE new boss of ScotRail said he will give Scotland the best railway it has ever had.

Alex Hynes, Managing Director of ScotRail Alliance, said he was delighted with the overall satisfaction rate in the lasted passenger survey but that he would look to build on improving specific elements of the service.

The Transport Focus passenger group survey showed ScotRail scored 90% overall satisfaction but within the survey there were some low scores on crucial factors.

On dealing with delays only 54% were satisfied and levels of overcrowding scored 79% satisfaction.

When asked about value for money provided by ScotRail service it was just 61% meaning almost four in ten passengers do not think they get value for money.

while overall satisfaction was 90% of the 38 specific measurements only one, the length of time journey was schedueld to take, hit the 90% mark.

Mr Hynes said: “I’m delighted with overall satisfaction of 90% but we are never complacent. We want to use this to make the experience even better.”

He said ScotRail was investing to add more seats and more services and that responsibility rests with him as the boss of the ScotRail Alliance with includes ScotRail and Network Rail.

The survey of more than 1200 passengers included 92% were satisfied with the length of time the journey was scheduled to take and 85% satisfied with actual punctuality.

the lowest satisfaction rate was with availability of power sockets with just 39% satisfied.

Mr Hynes added: “We are going to give Scotland the best railway it has ever had.”

Humza Yousaf, Scottish Government Transport Minister, said the satisfaction rate had improved.

He said: “This latest increase in overall passenger satisfaction, when compared with Spring 2016, are welcome to both me and to passengers.

“These results are evidence the actions implemented through ScotRail’s Performance Improvement Plan have been reflected in customer opinion.

“I am particularly pleased to note a significant increase with passengers overall satisfaction with how well ScotRail deals with delays.”

Opposition parties highlighted the level of dissatisfaction with the cost of ScotRail journeys

Neil Bibby, Labour’s Transport Spokesman, said: “This survey also shows that nearly 40 per cent of passengers do not believe fares represent value for money. That is why Scottish Labour called for a fare freeze in 2017 and will continue to demand more affordable rail travel.”

Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Jamie Green MSP said: “It’s welcome to see that overall satisfaction is increasing, and it’s important to acknowledge the efforts of ScotRail staff in achieving this.

“However these results still show that there are still several areas of concern, with passengers still not feeling like they are getting value for money from their train service.”