Written Question · S6W-01667 · Session 6
What assessment it has made of the suggestions in the report, Scotland’s Railway after the pandemic, by Professor Iain Docherty, on behalf …
The question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the suggestions in the report, Scotland’s Railway after the pandemic, by Professor Iain Docherty, on behalf of Abellio ScotRail, (a) that ScotRail services should decrease by at least 10% compared to pre-pandemic levels, (b) regarding whether the provision of ticket offices is viable in the future, (c) regarding 20% of the rail workforce being projected to leave the sector in the next five years and (d) that there is a unique platform to modernise and reduce staff costs quickly.
The answer
Transport Scotland, as part of the Rail Recovery Task Force, uses Transport Focus’s passenger pulse research to identify the changing priorities and requirements of rail passengers during and post Covid-19 which also provide a platform to assess the scale and pace of recovery from Covid 19 and, in particular, the potential to move towards our policy vision of an integrated public sector controlled railway.
Transport Scotland is pressing ahead to put in place arrangements to mobilise a wholly owned company of the Scottish Government to provide ScotRail services when the current franchise expires as expected on 31 March 2022.
Transport Scotland is pressing ahead to put in place arrangements to mobilise a wholly owned company of the Scottish Government to provide ScotRail services when the current franchise expires as expected on 31 March 2022.
In the Official Report
1 contribution mention S6W-01667-
22 Sep 2021ScotRail
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. Let me begin with the facts. Abellio ScotRail is fully funded by the Scottish Government—fact. Even before the introduction of the emergency measures agreement, the Scottis…