ScotRail nationalisation - your views online

Publicly-run ScotRail could be a ‘disaster’ for future investment says National Skills Academy for Rail chief Neil Robertson

Fraser McCabe

That's one opinion, another is that private companies have exploited the use of rail for ridiculous gain, forgetting that it should be a reliable and affordable service. Instead we've had little real investment when they take huge subsidies from the government. Trains are a necessity and if it means they need to be brought into government ownership then so be it. Why should governments be paying 80 per cent of running costs in subsidies yet not have much say over operating?

Evan Popplestone

A voice that represents private interests would, of course, slander nationalisation.

Daniel Watt

If you don't like the things the SNP do, vote in your preferred party instead. You've only had since 2007 to do it… No, something tells me that the voting public in Scotland rather like what the SNP do, and it’s the fact that they win every election they stand in.

Dougie Ritchie

Of course it was political and people still vote SNP then moan they can't get trains at night or to the golf at St Andrews. Get what you deserve with these imposters in charge.

Linda Anderson

The trains are worse now than when Abellio ran it.

Jordan Curtis-Kolu

Can't imagine why a CEO of a transport rail company in England would find it threatening to nationalise the rail. It should also highlight that he is against the hydrogen train project in Scotland, because there is one in England. Yet the hydrogen comes from Scotland and now we are about to start selling to Germany; yet no mention of England wrapping up their project to take it north instead. I feel like his opinion is more about financial and political reasons than it is about Scottish advancement.

Chris Young

What investment? The private sector has been milking the public since Major privatised BR.

Stewart Dredge

As a devolved country with an externally imposed economic policy of austerity we can never adequately invest in our public services. Independence is the sine qua non that allows us to tackle low investment across the board.

Paul Sutherland

Aye, because privatisation has been great!

Christine Mackay

The bus service in Edinburgh and the Lothians is in public ownership and is brilliant. Why not the railway? We can't say private ownership has been a great success can we?

Seán Fhoirbeis

Major infrastructure should never be privatised. All rail privatisation has done is quadruple fares. The general service did not improve drastically.

Cass Macdonald

That’s one view; I will withhold opinion until the Scottish government actually sorts things out. However, if you’re not actually determined to squeeze as much profit out of something - as private enterprise is - there’s generally more scope to improve services, structure, trains without hiking prices insanely high. Private contractors were demonstrated to have completely failed all of us in terms of rail service in Scotland, especially on lines with high usage, as well as more remote areas. If people are fainting on trains because they’re overcrowded on hot days, that’s not a good testimonial.

Carole Oattes

I have faith in our SNP government to come through with this for the people. They have already got the line to the Borders and others lines in the pipeline. The main hope is that train users will not be milked by huge price increases, but the strikes have caused major problems.

George Campbell

Well done Nicola. Giving us a railway to be proud of. Get Indy done.

John R Campbell

Of course it’s political - what’s wrong with running the railways under public ownership? It’s a well tested method throughout the world.

Phìl Hôpē

Private ownership was a disaster btw! The profits ended up in the hands of European railway companies.

Adam Fervid

Many rail companies in Asian countries with proper modern railways are privatised but the fares are low and the service is competitive! This is achieved because these railway companies make more from the infrastructure they build surrounding stations, malls, apartment blocks . . . It's difficult to make a railway profitable from traditional operations. We need to think outside the box.

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