Is rail ready to go public?

With Scotland’s transport minister Humza Yousaf poised to explain to MSPs today how he plans to improve train services, is nationalisation the answer? Michael Alexander speaks to both sides

Early morning on the rail line between Edinburgh Haymarket and Waverley stations and a train has broken down. It sounds straightforward but this single incident last Thursday led to knock-on effects on every route in the central belt, resulting in the cancellation of 225 trains – one in 10 – and “chaotic” delays across the country.

Coming just weeks after ScotRail, now operated by Dutch firm Abellio, was fined £483,000 for failing to meet required standards and amid a constant drip of criticism for delayed, cancelled and overcrowded trains, it brought to a head growing frustrations among passengers, unions and politicians about the state of our railways.

Just yesterday, Abellio blamed politicians and the state-run infrastructure operator Network Rail for its recent woes.

Opponents say the difficulties make a compelling case for public ownership.

So as Scotland’s transport minister Humza Yousaf prepares to address MSPs on Scotrail’s future today, many observers are asking if nationalisation of the Scottish railway operator is really the answer.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Alex Rowley thinks so. The Mid Scotland and Fife MSP told The Courier: “I believe the railway is a key public transport service and would be better placed to deliver good quality services at affordable rates within the public sector.

“The company currently running our railway is ploughing the profits from Scotland back into Holland.

“I think it would be better if those profits were being reinvested into our railway.”

A similar view is taken by the train drivers’ union Aslef, which supports UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s vision of a nationalised rail network and last week called on Mr Yousaf to resign.

“Taken for ride”

The union’s general secretary Mick Whelan said: “The privatised train operating companies are taking passengers – and taxpayers – for a ride with the highest fares in Western Europe, much older rolling stock and more overcrowded trains than ever before. “Privatisation has failed.” Critics will point out that much of the rail system is already publicly owned.

While Britain’s railways were nationalised by Labour in 1948 and returned to private hands by John Major’s Conservative government in 1993, responsibility for track, signalling, stations and rail infrastructure was taken out of private hands and put into those of a not-forprofit company, Network Rail – currently £41 billion in debt – after the collapse of Railtrack in 2002.

Charlotte Twyning, communications director for Abellio UK, said: “Ministers set fares and essentially determine how many seats are available and therefore, how much overcrowding exists across the network.

“We acknowledge the performance of the ScotRail Alliance is not good enough but we are working hard to make the changes necessary.”

Red herring

Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser, a Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, believes the suggestion from Humza Yousaf for a public sector bid to run ScotRail is a “red herring”.

“It’s not been thought out and would take years to come to fruition, which does nothing for passengers now,” he said.

“The focus must be on delivering a better train service now, not holding out hope of improvements in six years’ time.”

St Andrews rail link campaigner Jane Ann Liston, a former Liberal Democrat Fife councillor, believes in rail’s public ownership. However, she added: “The danger with nationalisation is that one might get a government, or transport minister, not sympathetic to rail and then there is lack of investment and neglect, as happened in the days of BR (British Rail).

“At least a private owner wants to run the business and make it successful.”

Perth-based Royal Scottish Geographical Society chief executive and rail campaigner Mike Robinson reckons the key is services that are “better joined up”.

“I see the sense in one single entity being responsible for all rail delivery, but believe the current problems are as much to do with ageing and outmoded infrastructure,” he said.

“Simply transferring operational ownership from one body to another is not really going to provide a solution.

“My concern is about modernisation and efficiency and the general lack of vision and investment for a modern rail infrastructure.

“I find it incredible that trains in Victorian Scotland were able to get you to Perth and Dundee faster than modern trains out of Edinburgh.

“I think we need a proper vision for future rail infrastructure and services north of the central belt.”

Picture: PA. Abellio’s running of the ScotRail franchise has come in for fierce criticism recently, with calls for the country’s system to be nationalised.