SCOTRAIL has been slammed by Borders Railway users, following a weekend of hell experienced by passengers.

On Saturday, dozens of angry Scotrail customers took to social media to vent their anger over cancellations and the lack of carriages on the "disgraceful" service.

With an international rugby match and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in full swing, Borderers were crammed into just two carriages on services throughout the day.

Sarah Bell, who departed Waverley on the 1754 service, said: "Children crying, adults looking unwell, clearly suffering from the heat on only 2 overcrowded carriages.

"Some people weren't even able to get on at Waverley."

And Neil Fox added: "Another day of misery on the Borders Railway. First test match at Murrayfield and the end of the Fringe, you [Scotrail] got it completely wrong again.

"We are fed up of your empty promises, overcrowded carriages and terrible excuses."

Rachael Hamilton MSP (Cons, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) has written to the First Minister after the weekend of chaos, following previous assurance from ScotRail that extra carriages would be put on when big events are happening.

She said: Constituents get in touch with me all the time about poor service on the Borders Railway when there is a big event like the rugby on in Edinburgh - and this past weekend was no different.

"I have heard that some people have had to pay for eye watering taxi fares out of their own pockets to get home to the Borders from the capital as they had no other option.

"ScotRail and the Scottish Government must get on top of this situation before Borderers desert the train for good."

The weekend followed the announcement of a price increase for train fares up and down the country.

Last week, Holyrood announced that in January, prices of ScotRail services will rise by 2.8 per cent for peak tickets and 1.8 per cent for off peak tickets.

For commuters, this will mean an increase of around 30p for anytime day singles and returns.

But 30p a day all adds up; season ticket holders currently paying £2820 for an annual pass from Tweedbank to Edinburgh will be a further £78 out of pocket each year.

Meanwhile, the Borders railway service is still falling under contractual obligations from ScotRail and Abellio.

Over the last month, the franchise fell 7 per cent below its punctuality target for trains passing through Tweedbank, although there has been a general improvement in performance over recent months.

Michelle Ballantyne MSP (Cons, South Scotland) highlighted that this is a recurring problem; rail commuters in the Borders have faced a series of delays and cancellations in recent months.

She said: “Passengers deserve better value for money, not frequent delays and packed carriages.

“Over the last several months, commuters in the Borders have had to put up with far too many delays and cancellations on overcrowded trains. Although there have been improvements recently, ScotRail still aren’t performing at the contractually mandated level.

Scotrail has been contacted for a response, but had not replied by the time of going to print.