Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 22 September 2021
I thank Labour colleagues for bringing this debate. It is important that we thank the workers for their commitment to delivering rail services during the pandemic, and it is important that we push Abellio to get round the table with our unions and resolve the industrial dispute well ahead of COP26.
The motion references world car free day, which is a reminder of why we urgently need to transform our transport system. If we do not get the system right, the 70 per cent of people who have access to a car will simply drive more, while the people who do not have access to cars will be even further disadvantaged.
Rail must be at the heart of the Government’s plan for a 20 per cent reduction in traffic. The transfer of ScotRail into public ownership next year must mark a relaunch of rail in Scotland and a genuine people’s railway. We must have a service that is run in the public interest, with a direct role for passengers and workers in service planning and delivery, so that we reach out to communities who are currently not served by the rail network and to passengers who—let us be honest—could be served a lot better.
I am concerned that the focus of the Docherty report and the subsequent ScotRail timetable proposals is on service cuts and facility closures across Scotland’s rail network, rather than on changes that can genuinely create room for expansion and improvement of services. In the report, it was claimed that the recommendations were due to changed passenger behaviour and the need for economic recovery from Covid but, as members said, it is still too early to say how rail use will recover post-pandemic, given that many workplaces have, understandably, yet to invite workers fully back to the office.
ScotRail is currently consulting on its national proposed timetable and the consultation closes for responses on 1 October.