Too many chiefs and not enough engines
300 station staff axed but 200 managers taken on
Scotland’s under-fire train operator got rid of more than 300 station staff while hiring more than 200 new managers, accounts have revealed.
ScotRail franchise holder Abellio’s annual report shows the number of frontline ticket office workers across the country plunged from 1409 in January 2018 to 1102 in April 2019.
Over the same period, the company – told in December it was losing the contract – boosted the number of management and administrative staff from 362 to 577.
Dutch governmentowned Abellio, which has been heavily criticised over punctuality and standards, has said the fall in station workers is down to increased reliance on ticket machines.
The report also revealed the firm paid £ 334,000 to its top director – with the huge sum being split between two people due to a change of personnel. The company refused to name the recipients.
It said: “Like almost every company, ScotRail goes through normal attrition of people leaving posts, including people moving to other roles within the business, moving on or retiring.
“Customers have seen improvements in ticket buying facil ities at stations with availability of self-service ticket machines improving to 94 per cent – an increase of 12 percentage points compared to the same period in 2018.
“Since 2015, more than £ 475million has been invested in new and upgraded trains, delivering more seats and a better service for customers and creating more than 500 extra jobs in Scotland. This has been the biggest investment in trains and stations in over 150 years.” Abell io’s 10- year franchise began in April 2015, but quickly hit problems over disruption, cancellations and overcrowding.
Transport Minister Michael Matheson has confirmed the company will lose the contract in March 2022, after which a new operator will be in place.
He said the decision was taken because the level of Government subsidy required for another five years would not deliver sufficient benefits to passengers.
Scottish Labour’s Colin Smyth said axing station staff was one of the reasons customer satisfaction levels were rock bottom.
Scottish Lib Dem MSP Mike Rumbles said: “The public want a reliable and efficient railway service that arrives on time and doesn’t pick their pocket.”