This article is from the source 'rtcom' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.rt.com/uk/518407-scotland-to-nationalise-railways/
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Scottish government to nationalise country’s ScotRail operator from next spring, when franchise expires | Scottish government to nationalise country’s ScotRail operator from next spring, when franchise expires |
| (6 months later) | |
| A public sector body will take charge of Scotland’s railways when the franchise run by Dutch company Abellio ends on March 31 next year, the Scottish government announced on Wednesday. | A public sector body will take charge of Scotland’s railways when the franchise run by Dutch company Abellio ends on March 31 next year, the Scottish government announced on Wednesday. |
| An arm’s-length “operator of last resort” owned and controlled by the government will take over the ScotRail franchise from April 2022, Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson said. | An arm’s-length “operator of last resort” owned and controlled by the government will take over the ScotRail franchise from April 2022, Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson said. |
| Abellio has been criticised for apparently allowing trains to run late, while questions have been raised over whether the services it provides are value for money. | Abellio has been criticised for apparently allowing trains to run late, while questions have been raised over whether the services it provides are value for money. |
| “I have decided that it would not be appropriate to award a franchise agreement to any party at this time, either through a competition or a direct award,” Matheson said in a statement. | “I have decided that it would not be appropriate to award a franchise agreement to any party at this time, either through a competition or a direct award,” Matheson said in a statement. |
| ScotRail’s 5,200 staff will be transferred to the new government-controlled company, the operator clarified in a statement. | ScotRail’s 5,200 staff will be transferred to the new government-controlled company, the operator clarified in a statement. |
| Matheson had already confirmed last year that Abellio would lose its franchise, come the end of March 2022. | Matheson had already confirmed last year that Abellio would lose its franchise, come the end of March 2022. |
| Since March 2020, the Scottish government has given ScotRail £452 million ($630 million) in funding to see it through the Covid-19 pandemic as passenger numbers dropped due to coronavirus restrictions. | Since March 2020, the Scottish government has given ScotRail £452 million ($630 million) in funding to see it through the Covid-19 pandemic as passenger numbers dropped due to coronavirus restrictions. |
| It is set to plough a similar amount of cash into the operator over the next 12 months, Matheson has confirmed. | It is set to plough a similar amount of cash into the operator over the next 12 months, Matheson has confirmed. |
| Like this story? Share it with a friend! | Like this story? Share it with a friend! |
| Dear readers and commenters, | |
| We have implemented a new engine for our comment section. We hope the transition goes smoothly for all of you. Unfortunately, the comments made before the change have been lost due to a technical problem. We are working on restoring them, and hoping to see you fill up the comment section with new ones. You should still be able to log in to comment using your social-media profiles, but if you signed up under an RT profile before, you are invited to create a new profile with the new commenting system. | |
| Sorry for the inconvenience, and looking forward to your future comments, | |
| RT Team. |