ScotRail’s woes risk boosting nationalisation call – leader comment

Trains are a vital part of Scotland's transport system (Picture: John Devlin)

Nationalisation isn’t the answer to the problems on the Scotland’s railways but continued cancellations and delays may persuade public to back such a move.

A good reputation is a precious thing. Lose it and the consequences can be severe. Say the words “Southern Rail” to commuters in the south of England at your peril. The railway company voted the worst in Britain for three years in a row in a Which? passenger survey – until its poor satisfaction rating was narrowly eclipsed by Northern in the latest figures – will have to perform a minor miracle to win back the hearts and minds of its passengers.

ScotRail has recently come under increased public scrutiny over cancellations, delays, skipped stops and other assorted problems with what is a key part of this country’s transport system.

These well-known problems have already produced the hashtag, “scotfail”, to facilitate social media discussions and outrage.

But the latest official figures are still a stark reminder of how bad things have got of late: more than 1,200 ScotRail services cancelled between 9 December and 6 January – less than a month.

At Holyrood, opposition politicians accused ScotRail of a “staggering level of incompetence”. ScotRail itself admitted that it had been experiencing “challenging times” and that “our performance has not been good enough”. And Transport Scotland agreed, adding that it had taken a “serious contractual step” of demanding a “remedial plan” to be put in place “swiftly”. But it also noted that many of the “underlying issues” were affecting rail franchises across the UK, suggesting there was a “fundamental flaw in the current structural arrangements”.

Some of ScotRail’s current troubles were caused by the late delivery of new trains by suppliers, which had a knock-on effect on staff training. But it also seems that the system created by the Government may be partly to blame.

Some will conclude that this is a reason to nationalise the railways; those with memories of British Rail may demur, remembering how it became a political football and the eternal poor relation in government spending battles. The latter was understandable; when faced with a choice of securing the defence of the realm, funding the NHS or improving the punctuality of the 3.10 to Yoker, what would you choose?

So those within Government and the railway industry who are opposed to nationalisation need to do better because, ultimately, a loss of reputation may prompt a return to the bad old days.