Last year's strike took its toll on passenger numbers

The Strategic Rail Authority's annual report shows that 57.4 million passenger journeys were made on ScotRail trains in the year up to 31 March.

The total is a drop of 5.5% over the previous 12 months and is the lowest since 1997/98.

ScotRail said the fall had been caused by industrial action by drivers last year.

A spokeswoman said: "There were six months of last year when we had to implement a special timetable which reduced the number of services during the industrial action.

"But there has definitely been an improvement and we have seen a rise in numbers since last summer, when we brought back the full timetable."

ScotRail is currently competing to hold onto the franchise to run railway services in Scotland for seven years from next summer.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said ministers remained committed to encouraging more people onto public transport.

"Our aim is to tackle overcrowding, improve reliability and provide better comfort and quality," she added.