Transport minister Yousaf reveals possible public bid to take over the railways

Transport minister Humza Yousaf has revealed he is working on a “viable” public sector bid to run the railways, amid continuing criticism of the current ScotRail operator Abellio.

Mr Yousaf, right, said the transport company’s performance had not been good enough as he urged unions and opposition parties to work with him to produce a public sector alternative.

He spoke out as performance data from ScotRail showed 86% of trains arrived at their destination on time or were less than five minutes late from October 16 to November 12 – although the most up-to-date annual figures put this at 89.8%.

ScotRail was forced to produce a performance improvement plan in September, at the request of Transport Scotland, after punctuality and reliability fell below standard.

Mr Yousaf told the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland: “Let’s be clear, ScotRail’s performance has been not good enough. I have told them in no uncertain terms that their performance must improve. If it doesn’t improve there are some very serious consequences.”

He insisted: “And if there’s not improvement I’ll be very clear, as I have been previously, that there are some very very serious consequences for ScotRail, for Abellio, if they do not improve their performance.”

The transport minister said: “I think there is a very good argument that the railways can be in public ownership. That is why we have committed to put forward a public sector bid.”