THE MINISTER in charge of Scotland’s railways left MSPs baffled as he told them he is “no transport expert” during a grilling on ScotRail’s performance.
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf was ridiculed by opponents for the throwaway remark during an appearance at Holyrood’s Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee.
Neil Bibby, Labour’s transport spokesman, said: “Humza Yousaf says he’s no expert on transport – overcrowded, overpriced late-running trains will agree with him.”
Read more: Scottish Government ready to step in and run railways if ScotRail fails to improve
Mr Yousaf made the remark as he blamed infrastructure body Network Rail for most of the cost overruns and delays to rail improvement projects.
The minister also reiterated his commitment to strip Abellio of the ScotRail contract if punctuality falls below 84.3 per cent for three consecutive months. Currently, 90.6 per cent of trains are arriving on time.
Mr Yousaf said: “If performance worsens then there are some very serious measures that I can take and I will take if necessary”.
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