Caledonian Sleeper costs taxpayers dearly

THE Caledonian Sleeper has cost taxpayers £95 for every passenger that has travelled on the service since Nicola Sturgeon became Scotland’s first minister, new analysis reveals.

The subsidy to run the overnight train linking London with the Scottish Highlands has now hit £173m since 2014, when its latest contract was awarded. Analysis of figures compiled by the Office of Rail and Road shows the service has carried 1.8m people over that time – meaning the subsidy per passenger is on average about £95. The subsidy compares with fares starting at just £50 for a seat to Glasgow. A superior en-suite double is priced at £345.

The Caledonian Sleeper has been operating in various forms since 1873 and is currently run by Serco, the outsourcing company best known for running many of Britain’s prisons.

Scottish ministers last year announced plans to cancel Serco’s contract, which was originally scheduled to last for 15 years and be worth £800m, and nationalise the service.

The SNP said proposals from Serco to renegotiate its contract – as the outsourcer was entitled to do – did not represent “value for money to the public”.

Ms Sturgeon’s administration may now be forced to backtrack on its nationalisation plans, however. Jenny Gilruth, the Scottish transport minister, has said UK legislation prevents it from being able to step in and automatically strip Serco of the contract.

UK laws stipulate that Scottish ministers must either put the operations out to tender, renegotiate with Serco, or award the contract to an operator owned by the Scottish Government.