Threat to £7bn train contract
● Minister ready to activate ‘get-out’ ● Passengers angry at service
Controversial Dutch firm Abellio could be stripped of its £7 billion contract to run Scotland’s trains if the service for passengers gets any worse, transport minister Humza Yousaf has said.
He has revealed that a clause exists in the current ten-year contract allowing it to be cancelled if only 84.3 per cent of trains are on time or less than five minutes late.
Dutch firm Abellio could be stripped of its £7 billion contract to run Scotland’s trains if the service for passengers gets any worse, transport minister Humza Yousaf has said.
He has revealed that a clause exists in the current ten-year contract allowing it to be cancelled if only 84.3 per cent of trains are on time or less than five minutes late.
Although that currently stands at 89.6 per cent, it is below the national target of 91.3 per cent.
The company, which took over from Aberdeen-based First in running Scotland’s trains last year, is making a £1 million-a-month profit from the franchise. But passengers have hit out in recent weeks over late services and overcrowded carriages.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for an improvement when the issue came under the spotlight during First Minister’s Questions at the Scottish Parliament earlier this month.
More than 14,000 people had signed a petition calling for Mr Yousaf to take action against Abellio due to the poor service. Mr Yousaf has now warned that he is ready to step in if things get worse.
“If the service further declines, there’s a mechanism to terminate the contract early,” he said yesterday.
“I want improvement and we will use every lever to make sure that we improve our railway. But make no mistake about it, if that improvement is not forthcoming, there’s a reason why we have a break clause in the contract.
“As someone who uses the train – most of my parliament journeys to Edinburgh are at peak time – I understand the frustrations that people feel.
“There is overcrowding, capacity issues, trains skipping stops, issues around reliability and communication.
“All these are at a level that is unacceptable to me. Abellio have some very ambitious plans for our railways in the future.
“What I’ve said to them is the shiny bells and whistles are great, but now get back to the basics – reliability, capacity.
“Get on to that and make this a good experience for the passenger.”
Abellio Scotrail managing director Phil Verster stated that delays could continue or worsen as work is carried out to improve the network.
Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant hit out after the most recent figures showed that 25.7 per cent of trains into Wick arrived on time, meaning 74.3 per cent were late.
The ‘Annual On Time Arrival at Destination’ also showed only 43.6 per cent of trains into Tain arrived on time.