According to the acclaimed American writer Mark Twain, there are three types of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.

It is a phrase which describes the persuasive power of statistics to bolster weak arguments, which Twain was not a fan of.

He attributed the quote to former British PM Benjamin Disraeli but there is no record of him ever actually saying it, so credit must be given to Twain himself.

More than 100 years on, Twain’s frustration with statistics he couldn’t understand is still felt by many, particularly when they come out of the mouths of politicians.

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This is particularly true when it comes to the frustration of beleaguered travellers on Scotland’s nationalised rail network of late.

When I say of late, I actually mean all the time.

This week peak fares were re-introduced onto the network as passenger numbers had not increased significantly enough to justify the £40million cost of scrapping them.

Transport secretary Fiona Hyslop said there had been an increase in passenger levels of about 6.8% during the 12-months the trial was in place.

However, she added it was not close enough to the 10% passenger uptick needed to meet the £40m needed for the scheme to be self-funding.

This seems a fair enough reason and easy to justify you would think.

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However, the pilot scheme has been in operation while ScotRail were forced to introduce a temporary timetable while ongoing pay talks were held with drivers.

Under its normal timetable, ScotRail operates about 2,100 services every weekday, which then falls slightly during the weekend.

That is a drop of about 300 on pre-Covid levels, when ScotRail was run by its previous private operator, the Dutch firm Abellio.

Under the temporary timetable, which was put in place in July, a further 600 were cut for an indefinite period.

The full timetable will not be restored until Monday despite a pay deal being struck around a fortnight ago.

So the question is, how can passenger numbers increase on a network that has less services in operation?

Answers on a postcard please.

The only thing that is peak about ScotRail services are the fares themselves as anyone who has the misfortune to use trains regularly will attest to.

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Nationalising the network was supposed to usher in a ‘world class’ service but instead it frequently resembles a shambles with we, the humble passengers and taxpayers left to foot the bill.

Apparently, the delay in re-introducing the normal timetable is because ScotRail needs to find out whether staff are available for overtime, and draw up new rosters.

This has been caused because there is a shortage of drivers, despite training more up being promised following the last rail dispute in 2022.

This whole situation is, sadly, symptomatic of a failed quango, Transport Scotland, which seems to take complacency to new heights.

Scotland’s transport system is failing, whether it is on the rails, at sea or on the roads, and one body is responsible for it all - and yet change at the top is never forthcoming.

Maybe everyone at Transport Scotland should make themselves useful and work as train drivers instead to fill the gaps.

What could possibly go wrong?