SNP slammed over "dreadful handling" of ScotRail franchise (Dundee Liberal Democrats)

Dundee Liberal Democrats <info@dundeelibdems.org.uk>

SNP slammed over "dreadful handling" of ScotRail franchise

April 19, 2008 4:29 PM

Alison McInnes MSP, Liberal Democrat MSP for North East Scotland

Alison McInnes MSP slams SNP over its handling of Scotrail franchise

Dundee Liberal Democrats today (Saturday 19th April) backed comments by North East Scotland MSP and Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson, Alison McInnes, over the SNP Government's handling of the ScotRail franchise.

Alison said, "I cannot be the only person to remember Kenny MacAskill's solemn promise to 'seek a mandate to bring our train network back into public hands through a not-for-profit trust' and to 'return ownership of our trains to the people of Scotland'. The SNP's turntable politics would have been amusing were it not for the serious implications of the Government's decision.

"This is the largest contract awarded by the Government - £800 million of taxpayers' money, but Ministers did not see fit to consult with unions, passenger organisations or regional transport partnerships.

Here in Dundee, City Council LibDem Planning and Transport Convener and chair of the TACTRAN transport partnership, Cllr Fraser Macpherson, said, "The SNP stands accused of dreadful handling of the ScotRail franchise. It has pre-empted the findings of Audit Scotland over the performance of ScotRail and has ignored its own party's oft-stated policy of handing the rail network over to a not-for-profit trust."