A bus driver brought in following this week’s freight train derailment had to rely on the services of an American tourist to guide him from Dundee to Carnoustie.
However, it has been claimed that not even the assistance of the kindly passenger was enough to stop the driver from smashing twice during the fraught journey.
Aberdeen Central MSP Kevin Stewart was among those using the service and said he was “astounded” by the poor quality of driving.
“The driver had no idea where Carnoustie station was,” he told The Courier.
A derailment in the early hours of Monday meant buses were used to carry passengers while rail services through Dundee were halted. Normal service was not resumed until Thursday.
Mr Stewart was on one of the bus services and said the driver needed a tourist to read instructions from their phone to guide him the 12 miles to Carnoustie because he didn’t know where he was going.
He said the driver struck an unidentified object in Broughty Ferry then hit the station wall upon arrival.
The Aberdeen Central MSP said: “The driver had no idea whereCarnoustie station was. An American passenger on the bus was directing the guy by satnav.
“We then hit something but I couldn’t see what it was. The driving was astoundingly bad. When we got to Carnoustie, I turned to the person next to me and said: ‘He’s not going to be able to make that turn into the station.’ Then he hit the wall.”
Mr Stewart has written to ScotRail to complain about the journey, although he was full of praise for how staff at Dundee’s station dealt with Wednesday evening’s situation.
He also highlighted a 20 minute wait for a bus, despite there being twovehicles sitting stationary outside the building.
A spokeswoman for ScotRail said: “We are aware of this incident and our rail replacement team is investigating as a matter of priority.”