Greens welcome end of ScotRail franchise
Scottish Greens Transport Spokesperson John Finnie MSP has welcomed an announcement from the Scottish Government that the Abellio’s tenure as ScotRail franchisee is to be ended.
In a statement to parliament this afternoon, Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson indicated that the franchise will come to an end in 2022, and will not be ‘rebased’.
John Finnie MSP said:
“Scottish Greens welcome the decision to bring an end to the Abellio ScotRail franchise. Delays, cancellations and overcrowding have occurred far too often on Scotland’s railways in recent years.
“The Scottish Government must now ensure that a robust public sector bid is in place so that our railways can be run in the public interest in future, rather than for private profit as now.
“In light of noises coming from down south that the UK Government intends to attack hard won rail workers rights, it’s also vital that Scottish Ministers engage with trade unions at every step of the process in developing the next franchise, to ensure workers’ rights are at the heart of future ScotRail services and that there is no attempt to roll out driver only operation.”