Abellio ScotRail

Abellio ScotRail

A Class 320 and a Class 318 at Partick in 2017
Overview
Franchise(s)	ScotRail
Main region(s)	Scotland
Other region(s)	Cumbria
Stations operated	354[1]
Parent company	Abellio
Reporting mark	SR
Dates of operation	1 April 2015–31 March 2022
Predecessor	First ScotRail
Successor	ScotRail
Other
Website	www.scotrail.co.uk
Route map

Abellio ScotRail,^[2] operating services under the name ScotRail, was the national train operating company of Scotland. A subsidiary of the Netherlands-based transport conglomerate Abellio, it operated the ScotRail franchise between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022.

In October 2014, Abellio was selected by Transport Scotland to take over the franchise from the incumbent operator First ScotRail. On 1 April 2015, Abellio ScotRail commenced operations. On 6 September 2015, it ran the first services on the newly-opened Borders Railway. In conjunction with the wider Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme, Abellio ScotRail introduced the Class 385 electric trains, which were faster and had more capacity than preceding diesel traction on the route; however, short-term difficulties with the new fleet led to disruption and delays. The operator was also unable to introduce its new Intercity timetable due to the late than planned delivery of refurbished Inter7City trains. Following the completion of the Inverness - Aberdeen Improvement Plan, a new hourly service was launched by Abellio ScotRail between these two cities.

During January 2017, the Scottish government and Abellio ScotRail's management publicly disagreed over the funding of a government-directed scheme; Phil Verster, the managing director of Abellio ScotRail and the ScotRail alliance, resigned shortly thereafter. On multiple occasions through the franchise period, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) organised industrial action, including strikes, that negatively impacted Abellio ScotRail's operations, to the point where Sunday operations were mostly abandoned over a seven month period in 2021. On 20 January 2017, the managing director of Abellio ScotRail and the ScotRail alliance parted ways with the company. During December 2019, it was announced by the Scottish government that Abellio ScotRail's franchise would end in 2022 due to alleged poor performance. The franchise ended on 31 March 2022 and was replaced by ScotRail, an operator of last resort (OLR) owned by the Scottish Government.