MSP wants faster move on Highland trains
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GREEN MSP John Finnie has criticised the pace of Scottish Government action to allow a public bid for ScotRail after news that a franchise competition could be delayed by three years.
The Highlands MSP and transport spokesman for the party, had a letter from the transport secretary revealing the government will now also “give equal treatment” to private sector bidders.
Mr Finnie said: “A publicly run rail service, set up in the interest of passengers rather than shareholder profits, won’t magically get up and run itself.
“It needs the support of government and a determination to see it’s in place by the original 2020 deadline.
“The transport secretary’s insistence that he’ll give ‘equal treatment’ to franchise bidders from the private sector doesn’t inspire confidence that we’ll have a publicly-run and expanded rail service in Scotland any time soon.”
Logistics firm David MacBrayne Ltd has confirmed an interest in exploring the possibility of a bid for a Scottish rail franchise contract.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “The notion that we can invoke the break clause in 2020 and simply transfer responsibility is wrong and not prudent use of taxpayers’ money. We’ll ensure an open competition for all bidders whether public or private sector organisations.”
She expects the current franchise to end in 2025 with a tendering process starting in 2023.
