Transport Secretary must bring to an end Abellio’s disastrous ScotRail reign
Scottish Greens transport spokesperson John Finnie MSP has called on the Scottish Government to end the current ScotRail franchise as chaos continues across the rail network.
Mr Finnie, Green MSP for the Highlands and Islands, made the call in parliament this afternoon (18 Dec 2018). He highlighted the Scottish Government’s ambition to take control of Network Rail, which is currently controlled by the UK Government. Greens support the devolution of Network Rail, and believe that both track and train operations should be run by a public sector operator.
John Finnie MSP said:
“ScotRail’s performance has gone from bad to worse in recent months, and the Scottish Government’s response has been wholly inadequate. Simply ordering review after review, while ScotRail’s performance continues to get worse is not good enough.
“Greens support the Scottish Government’s ambition to see Network Rail devolved. However, there seems little point in seeking control of one part of the rail operation, while franchising out another. The Transport Secretary must bring to an end Abellio’s disastrous reign and put in place a public sector operator to run Scotland’s railways exclusively in the public interest, at the earliest opportunity.”