It’s time for a People’s ScotRail. A railway run in the interests of the passengers and the workforce rather than the interests of shareholders.

I am pleased that the Scottish Government has at long last listened to Scottish Labour and Co-operative MSPs and decided to take the ScotRail franchise from Abellio.

In 2013 the Scottish Co-operative Party developed a detailed plan for a People’s ScotRail. We were disappointed when the Scottish Government chose to let the franchise back in 2014, and we called then for a democratically controlled franchise.

Taking the franchise from Abellio is only the first step. We need to make sure that what replaces Abellio is genuinely a democratically owned People’s ScotRail which puts the interests of the people of Scotland first.

An ownership model which puts maximising shareholder benefit first has been shown to be a poor deal for the travelling public in Scotland. It is time for ScotRail to be run in the interests of the people of Scotland. It is time for the voice of passengers and workers to be heard in the governance of ScotRail.