THE Scottish Government is facing growing calls to nationalise the country’s rail system in the wake of news that Wales will be taking their trains into public ownership in 2021.
Ministers in Cardiff’s Senedd said they had stepped in "to stabilise the [rail] network and keep it running" and that staff currently working for KeolisAmey would become public employees from February next year.
Campaigners say the Welsh announcement has left Holyrood with “no more excuses” and that Scottish rail services must be nationalised.
The Scottish Government say they are "considering all options" for when the current ScotRail contract expires in March 2022.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), Scottish Greens, and Scottish Labour have all so far urged the Scottish Government to take action.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “The announcement by the Welsh Labour Government that it is to take passenger rail services into public ownership is welcome.
“There should now be no more excuses for the Scottish Government, who have greater powers than the Welsh government over rail services, not to take similar action.
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“The failure of privately operated ScotRail and the Caledonian Sleeper to meet their contractual obligations due to the drop in passenger numbers caused by Covid-19 means the Scottish Government has the power to appoint a public operator of last resort to take rail services into public ownership.
“Instead it has chosen to use the extra public funding necessary to support railways in Scotland at this difficult time to be delivered through Emergency Measures Agreements that allow these companies to carry on making profits on the backs of the taxpayer and passengers.”
Cash added: "There is huge public support for public ownership because privatisation and profiteering has never been an efficient way to provide value for money, and this is even more the case when extra funding has been needed during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Scottish Government should act now to take rail services into public ownership.”
Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) general secretary Manuel Cortes agreed, saying the Welsh move was a “welcome and positive step”.
Cortes added that the move shows “the abject failure of privatisation”.
The Scottish Greens said that Scotland should be “inspired” by the Welsh action.
Scottish Greens transport spokesperson John Finnie said: “I fully endorse the RMT’s call for Scotland’s railways to be brought into public hands.
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“I have always maintained that public transport should serve communities not shareholders. It can help us build an integrated system of public transport that is vital in tackling the climate emergency too.
“Ministers should be inspired by what Wales has done.”
Scottish Labour joined the unions in taking aim at the private sector, saying pressure was being “heaped” on the SNP to look at ending the Abellio ScotRail and Serco Caledonian franchises.
The party’s transport spokesperson, Colin Smyth, said: “With the LNER and Northern Rail franchises in England and now the KeolisAmey franchise in Wales being brought under public control to be run by an operator of last resort, the SNP in Scotland are the only Government still desperate to prop up private rail firms.
“Scotland’s rail passengers and workers want to see our railways under public ownership. It’s time the SNP listened.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are considering all options for the future operation of ScotRail services after the current contract, which is expected to end in March 2022.
“While the legal framework that requires franchising is set by the UK Government, we have repeatedly called on UK ministers to give Scotland the powers needed to secure the best future for Scotland’s railway network, and to remove the absurdities and anomalies of the current system.
“For example, rail is different in Wales, where the Welsh Government now owns large parts of the infrastructure whereas in Scotland it remains owned and managed by Network Rail who answer to the UK Government.
"We have long called for the full transfer of all rail policy, including Network Rail’s responsibilities, to Scotland.
"We would encourage anyone with a genuine interest in running rail in the nation’s interests to get behind us in those calls.”
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