Towards a people’s railway for Scotland

By Mick Whelan and Karin Christiansen

As delegates meet this weekend for the Scottish Labour Conference in Perth, there are many important issues to be discussed following the publication of the party’s devolution commission report. We welcome the report’s commitment to a ‘not for profit’ model for the Scotrail franchise.

This is important because the ScotRail franchise, valued at £2.5 billion, is the largest single contract which the Scottish Government has the power to let and is the second most subsidised rail operation in the UK, currently absorbing £511m in public funds each year in order to attract a private operator to run the service. These two facts alone demonstrate that new approaches to the delivery of rail services must be urgently considered.

With concern about increasing fares and large shareholder profits in the rail industry, it is clear that the needs and views of passengers and employees need to be put at the heart of rail policy.  Employees, passengers and communities having a real say, which is institutionalised within the industry structure, will be critical to delivering this.

This is why we are pleased that Scottish Labour has shown a commitment to reviewing its rail policy and heartened by the warm welcome it gave the joint ASLEF, SERA and Co-operative Party report ‘A People’s Railway for Scotland’.  The paper articulates a bold vision for mutual, ‘not for profit’ rail services, offering greater social and economic benefits to the people of Scotland than the current model.

The report describes a Scotrail franchise which operates as a new kind of rail company whose primary commitment would be to the people of Scotland, not to a group of shareholders.  Its values would reflect this wider social mission and would aim to set new standards of outstanding customer service and community benefit.  To succeed in being regarded as an outstanding model of best practise the full involvement of its employees would be essential along with close relationships with local authorities, Scottish community rail partnerships and station ‘friends of’ groups.

Mick Whelan is General Secretary of ASLEF and Karin Christiansen is General Secretary of the Co-operative Party

‘Towards a People’s Railway for Scotland’, the ASLEF/Co-op Party Scottish Labour Party fringe meeting 2014 is today at 12.30 Friday 21^st March, New County Hotel, Perth