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Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Paul Hutcheon

Vast majority of Scots back public ownership of the railways, poll finds

A new opinion poll has found overwhelming support for ScotRail being operated by a state-owned firm.

Public ownership will become a reality next month after the current private operator, Abellio, was dogged by negative publicity.

Over the years the firm faced criticism over price rises, punctuality and other customer-related issues.

The Scottish Government decided to bring the ScotRail service in-house from April 1st.

The snapshot, carried out by Survation for the Scottish Greens, who share power with the SNP, found more than 60% of those polled support moves to bring ScotRail into public ownership.

Only 11% were opposed to the idea, while 22% were neither supportive or against the move.

Green MSP Mark Ruskell MSP said: “With Greens working co-operatively in government we’re about to take the huge step of bringing ScotRail into public ownership, a move that an overwhelming majority of the public support.

“Scotland’s railway must play a pivotal role in delivering a fair and green recovery from the pandemic. A recovery that is based on building a quality public service around the needs of passengers, rather than shareholders.

“That’s why it’s vital that as operations are brought into public hands there is a commitment to a people’s ScotRail, rooted in the experience of the public and the dedicated railway workforce.

“Improving Scotland’s railway is vital to connecting communities and meeting our climate ambitions and I’m delighted that this will be delivered in the public sector for the first time in generations.”

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