30 Years of Rail Privatisation Report

That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the RMT union’s report, Rail Privatisation: 30 Years of Waste and Rising Fares, which estimates that £31 billion has "leaked out" of Britain’s railways system, including in Scotland, in the form of profits extracted by train operating companies, rolling stock leasing companies, subcontractors, and other costs; understands that passengers are now paying 8% more on rail in real terms than in 1995; notes the view that railways are vital public assets that should be held permanently in public ownership; welcomes that the Scottish Government has brought ScotRail and the Caledonian Sleeper into public ownership, but believes that the franchise still relies on hiring its trains from third-party companies; understands that rolling stock leasing companies extract significant profits from the rail system by leasing trains to ScotRail at rates that it considers to be excessive; further understands that rail freight services are also privately owned in Scotland; notes the publication of Transport Scotland’s Rail Freight Strategy in 2016, which concluded that private operators should do more to share routes and rail freight movements; further notes the view set out in A Vision For Scotland’s Railways, commissioned by Scotland’s rail unions, ASLEF, RMT, TSSA and Unite, that the Scottish Government should consider the creation of a nationalised freight operator to "increase uptake, optimise efficiency, develop the economy, and improve sustainability", and calls for the Scottish Government to consider the recommendations of the report closely and ensure that public investment is focused on improving rail infrastructure and service.