Scot Rail services provided through the Operator of Last Resort: FOI release

Information requested

When the Scottish Government nationalise the rail industry, is it true that ScotRail under the Operator of Last Resort will be operated by a representative of Abellio until ScotRail/Scottish Rail once again finds a buyer, thus ending its nationalisation?

Response

We are progressing work to mobilise a wholly owned company of the Scottish government to provide ScotRail services within the public sector under Scottish Government control when the current franchise expires, expected to be the 31 March 2022.

When ScotRail services come under Scottish government control, it will not be operated by a representative of Abellio.

Current UK rail legislation maintains a presumption that Operator of Last Resort is not a permanent arrangement. The Scottish Government considers strongly that this legislation should be changed as part of the UK Government’s rail reform process following its publication of the Williams Shapps review.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.