megabusser
Member
Just announced, lots of journalists reporting it on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/RadioClydeNews/status/1207308519634079744?s=20
https://twitter.com/RadioClydeNews/status/1207308519634079744?s=20
Allowing the same people who appointed Abellio to appoint the next franchisee may not be a good idea.
With the Scottish Govt having got it wrong the last time surely it should be an independent decision by people who know about the rails this time round.
How much of it was actually Abellio's fault?
It not getting Franchised again.. Its going in house.
It not getting Franchised again.. Its going in house.
Well....much of LNR's woes are Abellio's fault...this says there is something potentially going wrong at the group level. GA doesn't seem to be doing well either.
So things not going well for Abellio, Arriva, First, Stagecoach are dipping out.... Any operating groups left not having issues?
The franchising system could well be the issue. Stagecoach were certainly competent and were right to refuse to take on the pension liabilities, as to do so would in my view have been negligent to their shareholders.
Its not. The Scottish government must put it back put to commercial tender as per the legislation. However, a publicly owned company can bid for the franchise on the same terms as any private company. Having it run "in house" won't change anything really despite what certain politicians and unions think.
How much of legislation is required for changing the franchise model to a concession one?Its not. The Scottish government must put it back put to commercial tender as per the legislation. However, a publicly owned company can bid for the franchise on the same terms as any private company. Having it run "in house" won't change anything really despite what certain politicians and unions think.
Abellio is to be stripped of its ScotRail franchise in 2022, three years early.
However, the decision appears to focus on the increasing cost of running the operation, rather than train performance.
How much of legislation is required for changing the franchise model to a concession one?
Whoever gets to run the franchise next, I just hope they commit to improving the seating on the trains. The new seats on the 156s 385s etc are truly awful, thin hard and upright.
How can they expect people to suffer for hours on some of the worlds most scenic lines sitting on an ironing board!
So many issues that make the railway unreliable.
Staff shortage - Abellio
Train faults - Abellio
Signal failures - Network Rail
People jumping in front of trains
Trespassers
Lineside fires
Power failures
Lots of reasons for delays and cancellation
Aslef's view:
Kevin Lindsay, organiser for the train drivers' trade union Aslef in Scotland, claimed Abellio had let down passengers and staff.
He added: "Those of us on the front line - ScotRail train drivers and other railway staff - can see every day how the company comes up short.
"We are disappointed that the SNP government has not grasped the real problem - and the solution to that problem - and simply taken this opportunity to bring Scotland's railway back into public ownership.
"The truth is that the franchise model is a broken business model. It hasn't worked, it doesn't work and it will not work. Everyone on the railway understands that."
A blessed relief for Abellio/Dutch government to be shot of it earlier than expected?
Thats reserved to Westminster, and given the current government's love of privatising everything I doubt they'll change it to allow a true "public" ownership. Best we could hope for is a publicly owned company running it on a not for profit basis, which the Scotland Act 2016 allows for as part of the devolution settlement after the Indyref in 2014.
The act gives extra powers to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government, most notably:
- The ability to amend sections of the Scotland Act 1998 which relate to the operation of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government within the United Kingdom including control of its electoral system (subject to a two-thirds majority within the parliament for any proposed change).
- The ability to use such amendment to devolve powers to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Ministers over areas such as abortion, welfare foods, onshore oil and gas activity, rail franchising, energy efficiency, and advice
"On transport, we'll allow public sector operators to bid for future rail franchises and integrate the British Transport Police into Police Scotland, while retaining the specialisms that are highly valued by the rail industry and passengers."