Notice: The Chamber's documentation and customs declaration services announce festive opening hours. Click here to view.

ScotRail has today been returned to public ownership for the first time in 25 years.

The train operator will now be run by a company owned by the Scottish Government.

The previous operator, Abellio, had its franchise ended early amid criticism of the quality of the service.

The UK's rail network was privatised in the 90s by John Major's Conservative government.

Before Abellio, ScotRail was run by National Express and First Group.

Yesterday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon insisted bringing ScotRail into public ownership was a "historic moment".

She said ScotRail services, which cover all rail services which start and end within Scotland, would continue as normal.

But she said the change in ownership "provides an opportunity to modernise" and would help to "deliver passenger services which are efficient, sustainable, safe, fit for the future".

To help with that, she pledged staff and travellers would be able to take part in a "national conversation" which would "contribute to the future vision" for the service.

Liz Cameron, the chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, urged ministers to invest in an upgrade to the train fleet to boost the economy and help meet net-zero targets.

“The Scottish government should seek to improve timetabling to better suit businesses and commuters, ensure that ticketing is accessible and affordable and deliver network-wide improvements that drive up business use and support economic growth,” she said.

More like this…

View all