A CAMPAIGN to devolve control of Scotland’s railways to Holyrood - which champions say would save the taxpayer £100 million a year - is set to issue a clarion call for support from across the political divide.
It has been claimed that the move would enhance customer experience on the railways by reducing journey times and delays.
Any savings would also be reinvested to fund increased services and improved rolling stock in the longer term.
Read more: Anger over £100,000 plan to seek public view of ScotRail
Scottish ministers are already responsible for the funding and managing of railways north of the border, through the award and oversight of the ScotRail franchise, currently operated by Dutch company Abellio.
However Network Rail, which is responsible for managing the track, signalling and infrastructure, ultimately answers to the UK Government, even though its performance has a direct impact on ScotRail.
Transport minister Humza Yousaf will urge political rivals to support the push for Network Rail to be accountable to Holyrood.
In the last year, 54 per cent of delays over three minutes were due to Network Rail faults on the line, compared to 37 per cent due to the ScotRail service.
Reform Scotland, in a report by Labour’s former UK transport minister Tom Harris, made the same call last November, ahead of speculation of the UK Government would be open to reform.
But UK Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, refused calls for more control to be handed to Scotland.
In a letter ahead of a committee to discuss the performance of the railway, Humza Yousaf asked rival parties to lend support for the devolution of powers over Scotland’s railway.
Read more: Anger over £100,000 plan to seek public view of ScotRail
“Decisions around a number of basic functions critical to the success of our railway are taken outside Scotland at a cost in excess of £100m a year,” the letter says.
“The Scottish Government is of the view that functions such as capacity planning, major projects delivery, timetabling, legal and property management pertaining to Scotland could and should be devolved and in so doing would provide improved responsibility, accountability, operational efficiency and better alignment with Scotland’s needs and priorities.”
It adds: “I’m sure that you agree that the current arrangements fall short of what is required and would welcome [your] support [for] the Scottish Government’s efforts to secure the full devolution of Network Rail and thereby help ensure that the rail industry in Scotland is better placed to deliver the best possible outcomes for passengers.”
One industry source said: “Of course there are political complaints about the railways. Parties wouldn’t be doing their job of opposing if they weren’t. But they want the head of a minister for stuff he’s not accountable for. We have it pretty good with the railways in Scotland. Westminster isn’t keen on this plan because they’re playing catch-up with much worse performance figures.”
Read more: Anger over £100,000 plan to seek public view of ScotRail
Network Rail said the ScotRail Alliance “already provides a dedicated and devolved rail network to Scotland”.
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