SCOTRAIL will be taken into public ownership from April 1 as Nicola Sturgeon hails its transfer from the private sector as a “historic moment”.
The move follows a difficult time for ScotRail as repeated industrial action and a severe drop in passenger numbers during the pandemic forced the Government to take matters into its own hands.
The transfer has been coming since March 2021 when it was announced that operator Abellio had failed to meet performance criteria to trigger a contract extension, as former transport secretary Michael Matheson confirmed the Government would end 25 years of privatisation for the service.
What will change?
The service will now be run by a new company called ScotRail Trains Limited, which will be overseen by Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd, a public body controlled by the Scottish Government.
However, aside from the removal of all Abellio signage, the service will continue to run as normal.
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What are people saying about the change?
Nicola Sturgeon commented that the transfer was a “very significant milestone” when addressing MSPs.
She said: "It provides an opportunity to modernise and deliver passenger services which are efficient, sustainable, safe, fit for the future, and which reflect the changing world we live in.
"Obviously, from tomorrow services will continue as normal. It's important that we provide reassurance and familiarity to passengers in the immediate term as we recover from the disruption and impact of the pandemic. Later this spring we will watch the national conversation offering rail staff, passengers and communities an opportunity to contribute to the future vision for Scotland's Railway and help shape this new beginning for Scotland."
Meanwhile, the Scottish Tories have questioned the move by drawing comparisons to the handling of the CalMac ferry contracts.
Tory MSP Graham Simpson said: “We know the SNP is no good at running things – you just have to look at the ferries for that.
"Given that fiasco, rail passengers should be worried that ‘Nat-rail’ will turn out to be CalMac on wheels.
"Rising fares, service cuts and ticket office closures – what part of that is an improvement?”
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) have promised a “day of action” on Friday “to call on the Scottish Government to create a properly-funded rail operator that delivers for passengers, communities, and workers.”
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “As ScotRail enters public ownership, something RMT has long campaigned for, the Scottish Government now has the opportunity to break with the past and instead recognise the central role ScotRail has to play in meeting its climate change targets and invest in creating an affordable, accessible, reliable and improved rail network.”
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association’s general secretary, Manuel Cortes, said that there was now an opportunity for decisions to be made in the public interest.
He said: “The last 25 years has seen too many decisions made that serve shareholders rather than the public – decisions like laying off the engineering staff who service and maintain trains, which contributed to the awful winter of delays in 2018.
“We must ensure any decisions made in the future are made in the public interest.
"That’s why I’m calling for the new board of ScotRail to have passenger, local authorities and workers representatives on it.”
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