Alex Hynes: Introducing the new man who’s in charge of our railways

THE new boss of Scotland’s under-fire rail network is caught up in two embarrassing rows in his own backyard over cancelled services and ageing trains.

Alex Hynes will take over as managing director of the ScotRail Alliance later this year – on a £255,0000 salary which will make him the highest-paid public servant in Scotland.

Rail chiefs insist Mr Hynes has a “proven track record delivering rail improvement and investment programmes”.

And they say he is the ideal candidate to take over from Phil Verster, who is quitting after less than two years in the post.

Mr Hynes is in charge of train services in the north of England run by the Arriva Rail North – or Northern – franchise, where he has suffered a range of problems.

His staff recently cancelled 1859 trains in just four weeks, with barely more than half (54.8%) arriving on time.

In one area, the cancellations were explained as being caused by “unprecedented levels of sickness absence”.

And there was embarrassment for Mr Hynes last year when he revealed he’d got “confused” after wrongly promising passengers brand new trains.

Customers on the line from Carlisle to Newcastle were told that old trains on the important route would be replaced by new 100mph super-trains.

But in a little-reported announcement last April, it emerged the replacement trains would be refurbished old stock, with a top speed of 90mph.

Mr Hynes said at the time: “We got confused. The route will get refurbished trains rather than brand new ones, but they will be as good as new.”

The 1859 cancellations came between November 13 and December 10, almost double the number for the previous four weeks – with more than 30,000 trains logged as late over the same period.

Meanwhile, performance stats showed 1756 trains did not have enough seats or carriages to meet demand.

Between December 11 and January 7 – the last period for which figures are available – 1258 services were cancelled, with only 67.9% arriving on time. Figures show 1328 did not have enough capacity to meet demand.

John Moorhouse, secretary of campaign group TravelWatch North West, said Mr Hynes appeared to be “leaving the ship at an early stage” before improvements were felt.

He told The Sunday Post: “A lot of the problems with Northern come from the fact that we are still working with out-of-date trains. Although new trains are promised, they are still a long way off. There’s still some way to go before they resolve the issues of increasing capacity and new trains.”

Chris Hyomes, of campaign group Railfuture, added: “It’s a question of investment. I think we will be looking at 2020 before [Northern] has a reliable service – the service passengers deserve.”

Mick Hogg, Scottish organiser for rail union RMT, said: “I hope that Mr Hynes won’t be as confused in the new job, where there is a lot needing done.

“He’ll need to get a grip on late trains, cancelled trains and angry passengers who our members have to deal with on a daily basis.”

Scottish Liberal Democrats transport spokesman Mike Rumbles said Mr Hynes’ problems at Northern “won’t be welcomed by passengers who have been let down over the last few months due to poor performance”.

He added: “Passengers don’t need a rail boss to get confused but need to see real improvement over the next few months. While I wish Mr Hynes well, he must deliver for passengers in Scotland.”

Liam Kerr, Scottish Tories’ transport spokesman, added: “There are serious problems facing ScotRail at the moment, and it will need sweeping changes to deliver the service passengers need and deserve.

“Some people will be concerned about whether Mr Hynes is the right person to deliver these changes, especially given his record in previous posts.

“However, if the SNP give ScotRail the backing they need to help improve the situation, then we might finally get the rail service that Scots deserve.”

Explaining the company’s poor performance over winter, a Northern Rail spokesman previously said: “Unfortunately, as a result of unprecedented levels of sickness absence, we experienced a number of staff shortages in November and December which had a significant impact on the service.

“Of course, we do plan for and seek to mitigate certain levels of absence, but those we experienced towards the end of 2016 were over and above those which would normally be expected.”

Mr Hynes’s appointment comes at a time of widespread misery for passengers north of the border.

Mr Verster announced last month he would be leaving to take up a new role in England, following a period of intense pressure as ScotRail failed to meet targets on punctuality and reliability.

During his time in charge, thousands of passengers signed a petition calling for train operator Abellio to be stripped of its contract unless things got better.

And in November transport minister Humza Yousaf called for an “immediate improvement” in performance.

A ScotRail Alliance spokesman said: “Alex has a proven track record delivering rail improvement and investment programmes and focusing on the needs of customers.

“During his three-and-a-half years at Northern Rail the company has recorded its highest ever customer and staff satisfaction scores. He is the ideal replacement to lead the ScotRail Alliance.”