Meeting of the Parliament 09 September 2025
I want to move on just now.
It has now been three years since the Scottish Government took the decision to end the Abellio ScotRail franchise, and it has been two years since the Serco Caledonian Sleeper franchise ended. Both operators are now in public ownership and under the direction of Scottish Rail Holdings.
We have seen continued improvements as a result of public ownership. ScotRail has added more than 200 additional services each weekday in the past year, offering 7 per cent more seats. ScotRail has a proven track record in boosting patronage, with journeys in the financial year 2024-25 at 84.7 million, up from 63.7 million in 2022-23 and 81.1 million in 2023-24. That is a huge increase of 33 per cent over two years, and a healthy increase of 4 per cent between 2023-24 and 2024-25.
On average, ScotRail remains one of the highest-scoring operators for overall passenger satisfaction. It employs 900 more people than it did prior to public ownership and, for the fifth year in a row, it has been awarded top employer status. I congratulate all ScotRail staff on their hard work and dedication.
Under public ownership, Caledonian sleeper performance has improved. Right-time arrivals are at almost 88 per cent, which is well above the average for the rest of the UK. Sleeper passenger numbers continue to grow year on year—it is one of the strongest post-pandemic recoveries of all Great Britain operators.
The UK Government is preparing to legislate on rail reform. The Scottish Government believes that a fully devolved and integrated railway that is publicly controlled, operated in the service of the public and truly accountable to the public will deliver better and more efficient services for our people, our communities and our visitors. In the absence of full devolution, I have made it clear to the UK Government that Scotland must benefit from rail reform to the same extent as England and Wales. I have welcomed assurances on that from the UK Minister for Rail, Lord Hendy, but I have yet to see whether and how that will be secured in law.