| What changes will there be for the railways? |
| Wednesday, 18 March 2009 15:15 |
| The companies, running services, and rolling stock in Scotland (including Scotrail, which runs most internal Scottish services) will continue in their franchises upon independence and will become subject to regulation by the Scottish Parliament. Franchises for crossborder services will be agreed between Scottish regulatory bodies and those south of the border. Railtrack, the privatised monopoly which owns the track and signalling in the UK, hasbeen a fiasco from beginning to end. Both Tory and Labour UK governments have utterly failed to invest in Scotland’s rail network with serious consequences for both our economy and our environment. Following Railtrack’s dramatic collapse in 2001, the SNP has called for a Scottish Public Rail Investment Trust – SPRINT – to be set up, to ensure that the rail network in Scotland has its own trust, accountable to the public and responsive to Scottish priorities. As part of this solution, the SNP has called for the devolution of all railway powers to the Scottish Parliament. |
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