SCOTLAND's railways should be brought under "full public ownership" as early as 2019 to stop profits subsidising rail travel in Holland, according to a transport union chief.
Transport minister Humza Yousaf is known to be preparing a public sector bid to take over Scotland’s railways, when the contract held by Dutch firm Abellio ends which will be 2022 at the earliest or till 2025 by mutual consent.
But with the support of a petition signed by 17,000 people, Manuel Cortes, the general secretary of the transport staff union TSSA who says the minister is "dragging his heels" on delivery and has called on the minister to take "the bold political decision" for full nationalisation of ScotRail without recourse to any bidding "preferably by using a break clause in 2019".
TSSA say that since April 2015, the passengers of Scotland have paid a dividend of £1m each month to the Abellio while standards of service "have deteriorated".
Data shows that in the 12 months since Abellio took the franchise at least one in ten trains in Scotland ran more than five minutes late.
Mr Yousaf was forced to apologise to passengers following widespread disruption on ScotRail services last winter.
And a union petition claims the trains have become a "health hazard". In October, last year, ScotRail was fined £483,000 for failing to meet required standards for trains and stations.
The performance results, covering July to September, showed the franchise failed to meet a number of targets in areas including station toilets, ticket machines and train seats, and cleanliness.
Public bodies such as Calmac Ferries, the Transport for Edinburgh group, which includes Lothian Buses, and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, which runs the Glasgow subway system, were all said to be in the running to take over the train franchise.
Among the Scottish government's other options is the creation of a government-owned company or a public-private sector partnership to take over the ScotRail franchise.
But Mr Cortes in a letter to the transport minister argues that is not good enough and that full nationalisation should come sooner rather than later.
"My contention to you is that you need to go further than just narrowing down the options of which publicly owned company, an existing one or one created for the purpose, will make the bid with the possibility that not only will it lose the bid in 2022 but, in the event that it wins, then have to take the risk of re-bidding again when the franchise next comes up for a further renewal.
"My call for public ownership of the ScotRail franchise reflects public opinion which has continually supported the ending of the failed privatised railway system.
"This goes beyond just allowing a public sector company to bid. I really hope that you share that opinion as frankly, the only thing stopping public ownership has been lack of political will.
"That’s why I am calling for the Scottish Government to take this bold and decisive political decision - end the costly and ineffective franchising system once and for all and institute full public ownership for passenger railways in Scotland."
He is planning to present the petition to the transport minister at a future meeting. He described as the "fastest growing petition in TSSA history".
Abellio, part of Dutch state railway group NS, claims nine in 10 passengers are happy with the service.
An Abellio spokesman said: “We are investing £475 million in Scotland’s railways, the biggest investment since the Victorian era delivering more seats and faster journey times for passengers. As we have indicated previously we have no problem competing with a public sector bid should that be what the Scottish Government decides to do.”
A Transport Scotland spokesman added: “We are taking steps to ensure a public sector operator is able to bid for a future rail contract, and that there is a public sector body able to do so. As has been stated many times already, the Minister will identify a suitable public body by the end of this year.”
The TSSA campaign is supported by a video which features some prime Scottish landmarks including the famous Glenfinnan viaduct from the Harry Potter films, and features a voiceover in the style of a Scottish National Party promotional film.
The "healthy profits" made from Scottish consumers are given back to the Dutch railway system, the video points out, ending on "with all the profits going to the Dutch state, Huh?"
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