A rail disgrace

I would just like to say that Scotrail must be one of the most unhelpful companies that I hve hd the displeasure of travelling with.

I have taken my three-year-old grandson on a number of journeys from Forres to Aberdeen to attend hospital appointments and it has ben bad enough that the train has been very overcrowded.

However, nothing can beat the journey that we had on Sunday, December 18 when returning with him from a trip to Thomas Land in Tamowrth, which a local charity had kindly donated to him.

(He has lost one eye through Retinoblastoma and has been receiving treatment for the other, and for problems with his legs).

The journey from Tamworth to Edinburgh was fantastic, with helpful, caring staff, but the Edinburgh to Aberdeen journey was overcrowded, but we managed.

Problems started when the train got into Aberdeen, and the connectnig train to Inverness was waiting a good half a mile from our last train.

Apart from being told to be careful that the platform was slippy, we had to run to catch the train, which lef tno tmie to upt the buggy up, and we  were left dragging a wee boy who is receiving treatment for cancer, with sore legs, along the platform, struggling with the buggy and cases.

It was chao: loads of people were running for the train, including an old couple. We heard the whistle blow and the guards could see people running for the train. We had absolutely no chance to get on the right coach, where we had seats booked, so we jumped into the corridor of the train with the help of others pulling our cses and buggy on. I just had time to grab my grandson when the doors began to shut.

We were three carriages away from our seats and had to fight our way through then ask the people who were sitting in our seats if we could have them back.

I was livid, but also about the fact that the driver saw people young and old who were left stranded. It was disgusting. The train was full of drunks swearing, worsened by the fact that the corridors were overcrowded. It was a disgrace.

This was a disappointing end to what was a fantastic few days away.

Debbie Fraser, Bynack Place, thornhill, Forres.