TransportMinister 'working on viable public sector bid to operate railways'
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf has revealed he is working on a ''viable'' public sector bid to run the railways, amid continuing criticism of the current ScotRail operator Abellio.
Mr Yousaf said the transport company's performance had not been good enough as he urged unions and opposition parties to work with him to produce a public sector alternative.
He spoke out as performance data from ScotRail showed 86% of trains arrived at their destination on time or were less than five minutes late from October 16 to November 12 - although the most up-to-date annual figures put this at 89.8%.
The decrease in punctuality was revealed at the same time it was reported that Abellio ScotRail managing director Phil Verster's basic annual wage had risen to £265,000 a year.
ScotRail was forced to produce a performance improvement plan in September, at the request of Transport Scotland, after punctuality and reliability fell below standard.
While Mr Yousaf has insisted he will not be stepping down as Transport Minister, the train drivers' union Aslef has urged First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to sack him over the ''rail crisis'' in Scotland.
A train breakdown in Edinburgh on Thursday morning caused widespread disruption for commuters, with Ms Sturgeon forced to apologise for this.
Labour transport spokesman Neil Bibby sought to put more pressure on Mr Yousaf, saying: ''Passengers are fed up with the shoddy service they are receiving from ScotRail, which led to an improvement plan being submitted more than two months ago. Commuters will be astonished to discover that hundreds more trains have been late and performance has plummeted since that improvement plan was presented.''
Mr Yousaf told the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland: ''Let's be clear, ScotRail's performance has been not good enough. I have told them in no uncertain terms that their performance must improve. If it doesn't improve there are some very serious consequences.''
He insisted: ''I am on top of the job. I am listening to what passengers have to say. I am monitoring ScotRail's performance and I have demanded improvement. And if there's not improvement I'll be very clear, as I have been previously, that there are some very very serious consequences for ScotRail, for Abellio, if they do not improve their performance.''
He said the contract with Abellio has a clause in it allowing it to be broken in 2020, and added: ''My position is we are going to put together a public sector bid. I'm calling the unions this week, and indeed other political parties, to join with me in a discussion about how we make and put together a viable public sector bid, that will be viable, that will be competitive. That could be ready for 2020 when the break clause comes.''
The Transport Minister said: ''I think there is a very good argument that the railways can be in public ownership. That is why we have committed to put forward a public sector bid.''
Meanwhile, Mr Verster highlighted the ''simultaneous challenges'' ScotRail faces of building new electric lines and stations, replacing paper tickets with smart cards and introducing new trains, while also trying to improve punctuality.
He insisted: ''Every single person who works for our ScotRail Alliance has one goal: to deliver for our customers. Our 7,500 dedicated people all work tirelessly every single day to deliver punctual services. Despite what we saw this week, we have improved our punctuality to 89.8% - even though we are in what is, traditionally, the most difficult time of the year for train operators right across the UK. We will continue to improve in the weeks ahead.''
A ScotRail Alliance spokeswoman said: ''Scotland's railway is among the most punctual in the UK at 89.8% compared to 87.9% for operators in England and Wales. We are going through the biggest change and improvement in our railway infrastructure since the Victorian era. That upgrade to our track is being matched by what we are investing in our fleet. Our largest ever Train Improvement Programme will deliver new and better trains, with more seats and customer benefits like enhanced WiFi and at seat power sockets. All of this will take time. While we are working on it, we will do everything we can to minimise disruption and to keep people moving. When it is all in place, we will have transformed rail travel in Scotland.''
But she added: ''There is no doubt that we need to deliver better punctuality and reliability. Our Performance Improvement Plan contains 246 individual actions to make things better, every single day. Despite the dreadful incident this week, we have started to see improvements. In recent weeks our performance has been getting better. All 7,500 people who work for the ScotRail Alliance are focused on one goal - improving performance and delivering the best possible service for our customers.''