Reaction to Scotrail franchise win
Rail campaigners have given a cautious welcome to news that Abellio has won the Scotrail franchise. Allison Cosgrove, Chair of Railfuture Scotland said:
“Railfuture Scotland has enjoyed a good relationship with First during the current franchise, and First management have always been approachable and helpful. We appreciated the re-instatement of the Edinburgh-Dunbar local service which they instigated in 2010. However, having talked with all the bidders, Abellio were the most receptive to our ideas on new stations, and were the only bidder to ask us back for an in depth study of our 50 Stations proposals. We await with interest to see what is included in the optional additions to the franchise, and hope that they have adopted some of our suggestions. In recent years First introduced a small funding scheme for local groups with railway connections, and we hope that Abellio will continue to engage with local communities. We look forward to working with them.”
Notes to editors:
Railfuture is the UK's leading independent organisation campaigning for better rail services for both passengers and freight.
Railfuture's website can be found at: www.railfuture.org.uk
Follow Railfuture on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Railfuture
For further information and comment please contact:
Allison Cosgrove
Chair, Railfuture Scotland
Tel: 01620 860812
allison1314 at gmail.com
Bruce Williamson,
UK media spokesman
Tel: 0117 927 2954 Mobile: 07759 557389
media at railfuture.org.uk