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| Dutch firm Abellio wins ScotRail franchise from FirstGroup | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Dutch rail operator Abellio will run ScotRail services from April 2015, after promising to invest millions in improving services. | Dutch rail operator Abellio will run ScotRail services from April 2015, after promising to invest millions in improving services. |
| It will take over from Aberdeen-based FirstGroup, which has run rail services in Scotland for the past 10 years. | It will take over from Aberdeen-based FirstGroup, which has run rail services in Scotland for the past 10 years. |
| Abellio has also pledged to deliver a better deal for ScotRail workers. | Abellio has also pledged to deliver a better deal for ScotRail workers. |
| Unions and opposition politicians reacted angrily to the announcement, saying there was support for services to be put into public ownership. | |
| They had called for the suspension of the franchising process, in the hope such a move would have been permitted under new devolved powers due to come to the Scottish Parliament. | |
| FirstGroup had been competing against Abellio, Arriva, MTR, and National Express for the right to operate the ScotRail contract. | FirstGroup had been competing against Abellio, Arriva, MTR, and National Express for the right to operate the ScotRail contract. |
| Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown said the franchise, worth up to £6bn, would run for 10 years, with a provision for the government to cancel the contract at the halfway point, if Abellio - a subsidiary of the Dutch national rail company Nederlandse Spoorwegen - failed to meet its obligations. | |
| Ministers said the deal would deliver improved services for passengers, including: | Ministers said the deal would deliver improved services for passengers, including: |
| And for ScotRail staff, the government also said the new contract would result in: | And for ScotRail staff, the government also said the new contract would result in: |
| Mr Brown said: "The Scottish government believes good public transport improves the lives of the people and the economy of Scotland. | Mr Brown said: "The Scottish government believes good public transport improves the lives of the people and the economy of Scotland. |
| "Following extensive consultation by the Scottish government, Scotland's railway has attracted a world leading contract to deliver for rail staff and passengers." | "Following extensive consultation by the Scottish government, Scotland's railway has attracted a world leading contract to deliver for rail staff and passengers." |
| The minister added: "We've already ensured that regulated rail fares will stay in line with inflation or less, and Abellio has come up with some truly innovative ways to make rail even more affordable, such as the £5 intercity fare anywhere in Scotland and reduced ticket prices for jobseekers and those newly in work, as well as a price promise for guaranteed best value fares." | The minister added: "We've already ensured that regulated rail fares will stay in line with inflation or less, and Abellio has come up with some truly innovative ways to make rail even more affordable, such as the £5 intercity fare anywhere in Scotland and reduced ticket prices for jobseekers and those newly in work, as well as a price promise for guaranteed best value fares." |
| Abellio chief executive Jeff Hoogesteger said: "This is a huge day for Abellio and indeed the Netherlands, which has such a rich history of commercial and cultural trade with Scotland. | |
| "For two years our team has been on a journey across Scotland and met people from the Borders, across the seven cities and to the very peak of the far north line, so that we could prepare a plan that would meet and exceed the expectations of the Scottish government. | |
| "We look forward to delivering significant new benefits for passengers under the next franchise." | |
| However Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA rail union, earlier described the the possibility of an Abellio franchise as "a slap in the face for Scots rail passengers". | |
| He said: "Only a few weeks ago, the Scottish people were promised the power to run a publicly owned railway which would put them first, ahead of private rail firms. | He said: "Only a few weeks ago, the Scottish people were promised the power to run a publicly owned railway which would put them first, ahead of private rail firms. |
| "Now the Scottish government wants to hand that railway to a firm run by Dutch state railways." | "Now the Scottish government wants to hand that railway to a firm run by Dutch state railways." |
| RMT general secretary Mick Cash told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "We believe public ownership is better, is more efficient and it's safer and it gives you great accountability. | RMT general secretary Mick Cash told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "We believe public ownership is better, is more efficient and it's safer and it gives you great accountability. |
| "All you're seeing in private ownership is that money's being sucked out of the industry and given to the private sector shareholders, or in this case is going to go to subsidise the Dutch railways." | "All you're seeing in private ownership is that money's being sucked out of the industry and given to the private sector shareholders, or in this case is going to go to subsidise the Dutch railways." |
| 'Further devolution' | |
| Scottish Labour infrastructure spokesman James Kelly added: "Today's decision highlights a total failure in leadership from the transport minster. | |
| "In awarding the ScotRail franchise to Abellio, Keith Brown has decided that the profits from Scotland's railways should be used to invest in lower fares and better services in Holland rather than here at home. | |
| "Keith Brown should have welcomed calls by transport unions and Scottish Labour to suspend the franchise process so further devolution could allow public bids to operate Scotland's railways. Instead he awarded it to a public company in Holland." | |
| Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie added: "There's huge public appetite for bringing rail back into public hands. | |
| "We need an assurance from the transport minister that the optional five-year break in the Scotrail franchise will allow for a Scottish public sector operator to bid, assuming power is devolved from Westminster to allow it." | |
| In a statement, FirstGroup chief executive Tim O'Toole said the firm was "very proud" of its success in operating First ScotRail. | |
| He added: "We have kept our promises and more for 10 years, delivering record levels of service including during this extraordinary summer in Scotland with the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup. | |
| "Our bid would have delivered even greater levels of service and growth, and we are disappointed we will not have the opportunity to implement the credible plans we submitted, building on our record of improvement across every measurable score, for the benefit of ScotRail's passengers and employees." | |
| The firm said it was still in discussions with the Department for Transport (DfT) over the First TransPennine Express and First Great Western franchises. |