Demand an end to the appalling standards, service and negligence of Abellio (Scotrail)

COMPLAINTS by rail passengers have soared by over a third in the 12 months since a Dutch firm took over the ScotRail franchise. Abellio has been hit by a 38 per cent rise in grievances between the first and final quarters of its first year in charge.

When abellio took over Scotrail, the company said there would be faster journeys and more capacity on trains. They have deceived the public and created false promises and diminshed expectations. My questions, amongst many others are these:

Why should I pay hundreds of pounds in train tickets and season tickets, to not be able to even have a seat on my 40 minute journey, and therefore have to stand in a tight packed train with many other unhappy customers?
Why should I have to pay for a service that has never ending delays, cancellations, ticket machine breakdowns. Why should I pay for a service that causes me to be late and interferes with personal/work/education commitments. This is just not an acceptable level of service.
I have heard many accounts of refund transaction problems with customers waiting over 2 months for hundred pound ticket refunds. I have heard the same voices of so many other unhappy customers that have been late for job interviews, college presentations, important commitments all at the fault of Scotrail. This is ongoing and doesnt seem to be making any change.
Abellio hold a £7billion 10-year contract that has a clause allowing it to be cancelled at the halfway point in 2020. If activated, it would see the contract expire after seven years in March 2022. Opposition parties have already called on the Scottish Government to rip up the agreement after a nightmare start.
Labour transport spokesman Neil Bibby MSP said: “Profits which are going overseas at the moment should be invested instead in services and rolling stock here in Scotland.”

Scottish Green Party co-convener Patrick Harvie MSP added: “We argued before this current franchise was being bid for that the Scottish Government should have tried to ensure a not-for-profit bidder took on ScotRail.
“It is ironic that we now have a public sector rail company from another country running our railways.”
ScotRail statistics show that 24 out of 75 services in the month to August 20 were late more often than they were on time.

The worst-hit stations were Glasgow High Street, where 90 per cent of services were late, Ardrossan Harbour, at 89.2 per cent, and Arbroath, with 88.4 per cent.

Accounts filed at Companies House show the Dutch firm are raking in £1million profit per month from the deal.

PLEASE SIGN this petition to raise the awareness and provoke a response in the right direction of msp's and mp's in regards to this economic and social rights issue. We cannot continue like this and the company has been negligent and in ways fraudulent in its serivce to the people of Scotland.


Some factual analysis and excerpts were derived from Express and The Daily Record.