Q:
What is the rail franchise?
A: The ScotRail franchise runs Scotland's 2,400 daily train services, delivering more than 83 million passenger journeys each year as well operating freight trains. Services around Strathclyde form the busiest commuter network in the UK outside of London. FirstGroup has held the franchise since 2004, but that will come to an end next year when Dutch firm Abellio takes over.
Q: How much is it worth?
A: The franchise is the biggest single contract to be handed out by the Scottish Government. Worth around £6 billion, it is managed by Transport Scotland.
Q: Is it value for money?
A: The franchise is overseen by Service Quality Incentive Regime (Squire), which measures the quality of customer services. Squire inspectors audit 346 stations and approximately 200 trains every four weeks. The regime also sets targets and has the power to impose fines for any breaches.
Q: What happens to ScotRail staff?
A: Around 4,700 people are employed by ScotRail, while approximately 347 stations are used to deliver the ScotRail services. These will also transfer to Abellio with the same terms and conditions, meaning their jobs are safe for the time being.
Q: What is Abellio?
A: Abellio is an offshoot of Netherlands Railways, the state-owned rail company of Holland. It has been investing in other railways across Europe since they were opened up to companies in the last 20 years.
Q: What's Abellio's interest in the UK?
A: The firm currently operates three rail franchises in England, including Merseyrail and Northern Rail, which it jointly runs with Serco.
Q: Why is a Dutch company running Scotland's railway?
A: The Scottish Government is barred by law from setting up a public company to oversee train services, and must award the contract to the applicant which best meets the brief.
Q: What other firms were shortlisted?
A: FirstGroup, National Express, Arriva and Hong Kong operator MTR.
Q: How do we make sure trains run on time?
A: The franchise holder has to monitor the reliability and punctuality of train services against performance indicators. Under the franchise agreement, ScotRail is required to improve performance by reducing delay minutes by two per cent every year.
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