Power-sharing Greens urged to halt nationalised ScotRail cuts to meet transport pledge

There is widespread anger that the train operator plans to cut 300 services a day from its pre-pandemic levels to save £40m a year on the day that the Scottish Greens teamed up with the SNP in power-sharing deal.

The published shared policy programme states the parties agree that in the face of the climate emergency "we need to shift away from spending money on new road projects that encourage more people to drive, and instead focus our money and effort on maintaining roads, improving safety and providing a realistic and affordable alternative through investing in public transport and active travel".

READ MORE: Anger as ScotRail plans cuts to services under state-ownership

The changes the Scottish Government-controlled ScotRail are planning from next May mean some 2,100 weekday trains running compared to 2,400 before the Covid crisis – or around one in eight fewer than in 2019.

It is slightly more than the current 2,004 daily services, cut because of lower demand.

The transport secretary Michael Matheson announced earlier this year that ScotRail will come under direct state control from March 2022.

Scottish Labour’s transport spokesman Neil Bibby has challenged the Greens to “stand up for rail” and stop the planned "decimation" of rail services in Scotland.

Mr Bibby has urged the Scottish Greens to intervene to put a stop to the cuts, calling it “the first test of the new coalition”.

He said: “These plans would decimate Scotland’s rail networks and completely undermine our journey to net-zero.

“This is the first test of the new coalition – the Greens have to decide whether they will do what’s right for passengers and the planet, or if they will simply fall into line behind the SNP.

“We should be making it as easy as possible for people to get back on to public transport – but cutting hundreds of services a day will just leave us with infrequent, overcrowded trains.

“The Greens must stand up for rail and intervene to put a stop to these reckless plans.”

In the Greens' co-operation deal two Scottish Green MSPs were to take ministerial posts with the party saying they were committed to "decarbonising the transport network".

Under the proposals, the parties would work together on legislation to "grow" public transport and that there would be a decisive shift away from spending on major road projects.

The Scottish Government is to run ScotRail through an arms-length company declaring that the current system of franchising "is no longer fit for purpose".

Mr Matheson said the move will come through "operator of last resort arrangements" after he decided it was not the right time to seek a franchise procurement competition to run Scotland's railways after Dutch state owned railway company Abellio ends its control.

Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, Liz Smith, who is the Scottish Conservatives' shadow cabinet secretary for finance and the economy said there had to be a rethink.

"The announcement from ScotRail that it is proposing to make a permanent cut to rail services of 10% is unsurprisingly causing very considerable anger," she said.

"And for my constituents across mid Scotland and Fife there is particular concern that the direct path to Edinburgh rail link could be lost with trains having to divert via Dunfermline. And of course that's completely at odds with policies to ensure that trains are faster, more efficient and more accessible.

"In terms of climate change, the focus ought to be on ensuring that we can get people out of their cars on to greener transport, and therefore, there is much less pressure on carbon emissions. So I hope local people will make their voices very strongly heard about this, and I will be supporting them, every inch of the way."

Aslef, RMT, TSSA and Unite trade unions hit out at the cuts saying: “It is incredible in the year that the world comes to Scotland to debate the very future of our planet ScotRail is proposing cuts to the rail services in a transparent attempt to use the pandemic as cover for cuts.

“These plans would not only cull jobs, they would hit hardest on the most vulnerable people within society including elderly and disabled people. All the while diverting many passengers back onto the roads and increasing pollution, congestion and greenhouse gases.”

At the end of 2019, ministers announced it had stripped Abellio of the franchise three years early in the wake of continuing outcry over service failings and rising costs to the taxpayer.

It came after a 2018 winter timetable with the introduction of high-speed trains and new class 385 electric trains ushered in months of cancellations and disruption to services with much of it put down to staff shortages partly due to training to deal with the new trains and timetable.

The train operator consultation describes it as a new “value for money” timetable for May 2022 yesterday.

Analysis in the document, called Fit for the Future explained the cuts.

"The significant cost of Scotland’s Railway combined with the fiscal challenge placed on public spending by the Covid-19 pandemic, means we must look at becoming more efficient so that this vital transport network can remain financially sustainable into the future," it said.

"The train service provided by ScotRail must be designed in such a way as to be as attractive to customers as possible whilst using staff and trains efficiently and also allowing Network Rail sufficient access to maintain and improve the network.

"A vital first step is not to just revert to the historical train service plans as passenger demand recovers from the pandemic as this will increase the cost to the taxpayer by £30 to £40 million per year."

It claimed that before coronavirus there were “significantly” more seats provided on trains than were required.

"Under five and a half million passenger journey miles were completed on a typical weekday, which was just 23 per cent of the available number of seats, it said.

“In other words, seats were empty for 77 per cent of the distance that was travelled."

The report claimed “over-capacity” varied across the network and cited the North Electric Line and the Argyle Line as being among the poorest performers.

“We are proposing a new timetable operating around 2,100 services per weekday as the foundation to encourage a return to public transport following the pandemic," it said.

The consultation is open from 20 August to 1 October 2021, to seek opinions on the proposed timetables.

The transport secretary previously admitted it had considered keeping Abellio on board after March, 2022, but decided it was not in the country's best interests.

Mr Matheson has not said how long the 'operator of last resort" arrangements would be in place for, saying that it was something that will be considered further as the "shape and pace" of rail reform becomes clearer.