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Why ScotRail stops short of public ownership
VINCE MILLS exposes the SNP’s agenda of keeping the train service in private hands to comply with EU directives
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WHO could blame RMT’s general secretary Mick Cash when he said: “We have long campaigned for the Scottish government to utilise its existing powers and take Scotland’s rail passenger services into public ownership and today’s announcement represents a clear victory for this campaign.”
Except that the Scottish government has not taken ScotRail into public ownership. Instead, a publicly owned “operator of last resort” (OLR) will take over the ScotRail franchise in 12 months’ time when the Abellio franchise ends in March next year.
What’s the difference? The difference is that although the SNP is complaining about the current franchising model, it is committed to competition in rail services because it wants an independent Scotland to join the EU, and in the EU it is obligatory for member countries to allow competition for rail services.
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