The primary demand that we make of our rail services is that they get us where we want to go, on time, for a reasonable price.

But other aspects of the customer experience matter. Passengers want stations, platforms and shelters to be clean and well-maintained. Toilets in stations and on trains need to be of an acceptable standard, information screens and timetables need to be clear and accessible. We want to feel safe, so value CCTV and reliable security arrangements.

That is why the ScotRail contract includes provision for firms to be rewarded for good performance in such areas, and financially penalised if standards come up short. The Service Quality Incentive Regime, (Squire) monitors hundreds of stations and trains every four weeks.

Issues such as cleanliness, safety and graffiti matter to ScotRail's customers, so the news the current contract holders Abellio have been found liable for more than £265,000 in penalties in one financial quarter is worrying.

There is no direct comparable figure for the previous contract when figures were only published annually, but over its last year of operation First Scotrail was fined £576,000, a much lower average monthly figure.

There are caveats to this. Penalties were higher still during a two month 'grace' period after Abellio took over in April where fines were calculated, but not collected.

Meanwhile Transport Scotland says Abellio itself insisted on stricter methodology in some areas during the initial testing period and the demands under the Squire system are already stern. The transparency is welcome, and more frequent publication of standards can only benefit passengers.

However one danger in the awarding of big public contracts such as this one is that standards fall when winning bidders attempt to make efficiencies. The financial penalties imposed under Squire are intended to help prevent this.

Abellio's honeymoon period is over and it now must improve standards in stations and on trains. It has a financial incentive to do better and will no doubt endeavour to do so. Meanwhile, the public will be looking for early evidence that the current franchise holder can not only bring breaches down to a similar level to those achieved before, but improve standards so it incurs smaller fines than its predecessor.