A People’s Railway for Scotland

A new report by rail expert Professor Paul Salveson, commissioned by ASLEF, the Co-operative Party and the Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA), is set to ignite the debate about the future of the railway in Scotland.

The report calls for a ‘People’s ScotRail’ owned by and for the people of Scotland; a railway which brings passengers, employees and communities together.

ASLEF welcomes the Scottish Labour Party’s decision to consult on the future direction of its rail policy. The status quo is not working for passengers, tax payers or communities and we believe the alternative vision we are proposing warrants genuine consideration. Not least in the context of the independence debate.

We can never lose sight of the fact that Scotland’s railways are part of a national network with five cross border franchises operating into its major cities and I’m delighted that we have been able to build on the work we undertook in developing proposals for Wales – Rail Cymru – which we published in 2012.

As the second most heavily subsidised passenger rail franchise in the UK, ScotRail has demonstrably not delivered the levels of investment, service and value for money that Scottish passengers and taxpayers deserve. Under the terms of devolution Scotland, and a future Scottish Labour administration, has the opportunity to rethink this failed model with some bold policy options.

We believe the Directly Operated Railways model – with the East Coast returning hundreds of millions of pounds to the taxpayer – is worthy of further examination. The report calls on a future Scottish government to take control of the ScotRail franchise and put in place a new model which would run the service ‘for the many, not the few’ in the interests of all the people of Scotland.

Importantly, the report also considers how the one constant in the expensive game of musical chairs which is the franchising process – the staff – can become more engaged with the direction of the rail services they deliver.

The proposals would see the profits generated, like those on the East Coast main line, invested either back into the service itself in the case of a not for profit mutual model, to help keep fares down and investment up, or to the taxpayer to help fund other vital public services, rather than being sent in dividends to shareholders which are often then moved offshore.

Mick Whelan is the General Secretary of ASLEF