Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 03 February 2022
I welcome Jenny Gilruth to what I think is her first debate as the transport minister and offer her my congratulations.
The motion opens by welcoming the return of ScotRail to the public sector. I hope that speakers from the Labour Party will recognise that it is the SNP Government that has brought what we can of the rail system back into public ownership before they reel off criticisms of the Scottish Government for running a railway that we do not yet have full charge of.
There are major challenges facing the railways as we come out of the pandemic: the impact of Covid on public transport has been massive. It will take time for usage to return to pre-pandemic levels. Throughout the pandemic, the Scottish Government has supported rail franchises with more than £1 billion, including £450 million of additional funding through the emergency measures agreements. However, that level of funding is not sustainable in the longer term. I think that everyone would accept that.
The motion talks of fare increases, but does not mention that, on average, ScotRail fares are 20 per cent cheaper than those across the rest of the UK. The motion talks about jobs, but it does not acknowledge that employment in Scotland’s railways is the highest it has been since devolution. Despite some failings by the private companies running our trains in the past, the Scottish Government’s track record of directing improvements and investment in the railway network stands up to scrutiny.