End of the line for Abellio as Scotrail begins a new journey in public ownership
Today rail services are being run by a new company controlled by the Scottish Government
Last updated 1st Apr 2022
After a quarter of a century of privatisation Scotrail is back in public ownership today as the Scottish Government takes control of the running of most of the country's train services.
Ministers decided not to renew the franchise with the Dutch operator which has run services since April 2015, when it took over from the previous regime of First Group, and before them National Express which was the first private firm in 1997.
The decision was taken at the end of 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic led to a dramatic fall in the number of passengers using trains, the consequences of which are still being felt in the industry with changes to timetables and service patterns.
Transport minister Jenny Gilruth said: "Bringing ScotRail passenger services under public control and ownership puts passengers and staff at the heart of Scotland's rail services.
"It's a historic occasion and one that marks a key milestone in our ambitious Programme for Government to support a greener, fairer Scotland.
"This is an opportunity to deliver a railway which is for the benefit of the people of Scotland and everyone who travels by rail - customers, staff and stakeholders, not shareholders.
"The national conversation that gets under way this spring will provide an opportunity for staff, passengers and communities to have their say in how we shape Scotland's railway and ScotRail in particular.
Timetables will remain the same as planned and train livery is not changing, though the word Abellio will be removed from signs and printed materials.
A publicly-owned company called ScotRail Trains Limited will operate train services, overseen by a public body called Scottish Rail Holdings.
Scotrail has published aFAQon what the changes will mean for travellers.
Unhappy passengers
The Abellio-era began with cupcakes and lollipops behind handed out to passengers, but the honeymoon didn’t last long with mounting frustration at delays, cancellations and overcrowding,
In October 2016 19,000 people backed a petition calling for Abellio to be stripped of its ScotRail contract, and the company published its first performance improvement plan.
As compensation commuters were given £3m of discounts.
Two years later, at the end of 2018, after another surge in cancellations, the Government had to issue another two performance notices, and in early January 2019 a survey showed passenger satisfaction falling to a 16-year low.
New trains and new look stations
But Abellio’s time in charge has seen major – and sometimes disruptive - improvements.
Projects undertaken include the electrification of the Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley line, and north to Stirling and Dunblane, and the rebuilding of Glasgow Queen Street station.
The arrival of new class 385 trains on electrified routes across Central Scotland has allowed the withdrawal of the oldest trains.
Passenger comfort has been transformed on long distance services to Aberdeen and Inveness with refurbished Inter7City high speed trains.
However, the recently published official report into the fatal crash at Carmont has raised questions about the comparative safety standards of older rolling stock.
Strike misery
Industrial relations have been fraught, at times.
A little over a year after the start of the franchise, in the summer of 2016, conductors in the RMT union began a series of strikes in protest at driver-only trains..
Just last year passengers had to endure months of disruption at weekends as conductors staged an overtime ban in a dispute about pay and rest day working.
The dispute dragged on through summer and autumn and a settlement was only agreed when the union threatened to escalate strike action during the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.