Hand ScotRail back to Scots, says rail union
Call for public ownership amid fares hike protests
UNION bosses have renewed calls for Scotland’s rail services to be taken into public ownership as commuters return to work facing huge price hikes.
ScotRail fares have now increased by an average of 3.2 per cent, with peak tickets up by 3.6 per cent.
The RMT rail union yesterday said that the rise – the biggest in five years – comes at a time when earnings are falling in real terms.
Its members will be leafleting passengers at stations around the country today to highlight the case for public ownership.
Around 40 demonstrations were held at railway stations across the UK yesterday to protest against the fare hikes which will see some fares rise by as much as 4.7 per cent.
Real-terms pay has increased by only 1.8 per cent since January 2013 but regulated fares have increased 12.7 per cent over the same period.
Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT, said that while revenues for ScotRail operator Abellio would increase, rail travel was ‘increasingly unaffordable for many’ and it was necessary to ‘bring a permanent end to the damaging fragmentation and privatisation of our railways’.
Mr Cash added: ‘These figures show that privatisation of rail is contributing to the cost of living crisis in Scotland.
‘While Dutch state-owned ScotRail’s revenues will increase as a result of the biggest fare increase in five years, Scottish workers are paid less in real terms and rail travel is becoming increasingly unaffordable for many.’
Labour MSP Colin Smyth said: ‘The SNP seem to think passengers in Scotland are getting a fair deal. They’re not.
‘Passengers in this country already pay some of the highest fares in Western Europe. Rail fares have increased faster than wages over the last five years and that is unacceptable, given the delays, cancellations and overcrowding rail users experience with ScotRail.
‘Scottish Labour would take ScotRail back into public ownership and deliver a people’s railway that puts passengers first.’
Transport Scotland last night defended the fare hikes, saying that commuters faced lower increases than the UK average. A spokesman said: ‘Scotland’s rail fares increase is lower than inflation and lower than the average increase across the UK.
‘We are undertaking a review of the National Transport Strategy, which will consider our long-term approach to ensuring the affordability of transport across Scotland.’
She added: ‘We want to see more people take the train and we recognise this means prices have to be affordable and fair.
‘Steps are being taken to ensure that a public sector operator is able to bid for a future rail contract, and that there is a public sector body able to do so. We secured the right for a public sector operator to bid for the franchise, despite repeatedly being denied by successive Labour and Conservative governments.’
Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, said passengers ‘should be proud’ of the firms that operate the railways.
He claimed the latest rise was justified by investment in improved services, adding: ‘Train companies won the right to run franchises by offering the best possible deal for the taxpayer.’
Last night, Westminster Transport Secretary Chris Grayling blamed the rail unions for the fares hike, claiming they had blocked attempts to curb bumper increases.
Mr Grayling said he wanted to ditch the use of the discredited Retail Prices Index (RPI) as the basis for future fare rises.
But he said switching to the lower Consumer Prices Index (CPI) would require the unions to accept lower pay rises, adding: ‘I cannot promise no fare increases in future but I would like to move to the lower measure of inflation.
‘But to achieve that you have to move the whole industry on to RPI, and the biggest barrier to that is the unions who will not accept pay awards linked to CPI.’
Alex Brummer – Page 14