Goodbye Abellio – as Scotrail transfers into the public sector

THE REIGN of private operators on Scotrail has come to an end following the transfer of Scotrail from Abellio into the public sector on April 1.

The change sees Scotrail Trains Ltd, an ‘operator of last resort’ wholly-owned Scottish Government company, now responsible for Scotrail, although the operation will continue to carry the name that has been associated with it since British Rail days. STL will be overseen by Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd, which is headed by former Virgin Trains chief operating officer Chris Gibb. Alex Hynes will continue in his role as managing director of the Scotrail Alliance with Network Rail.

As with other operations that have been effectively transferred into public ownership, the message from Scotrail is very much business as usual, with the move having no effect on timetabled services, fares or staffing.

Abellio had operated Scotrail services for seven years, having assumed responsibility for the train operator on April 1, 2015 after winning the franchise from Firstgroup. However, the operation was dogged with service cancellations and poor performance levels, leading to widespread criticism, and it was announced in December 2019 that the franchise would end three years early on March 31 this year instead of carrying on until the original planned end date in 2025. The ‘operator of last resort’ model applied by the Scottish Government has been successfully used in England to take over ailing franchises in recent years, with London North Eastern Railway, Northern, and Southeastern all currently operated using this method.