Claims that Caledonian MacBrayne could bid for the franchise to run Scotland’s trains was dismissed as ‘speculation’ this week, writes Hugh Boag.
But it may not be as farfetched as it first seems. Transport minister Humza Yousaf has made clear his deep unhappiness with ScotRail’s beleagured Dutch owner Abellio and has spoken previously about the possibility of bringing ScotRail back into public hands.
This week there were national newspaper claims that a CalMac bid was one of two options being considered by Scottish ministers to take over the £2.5 billion franchise, the other an entirely new company. Abellio is meant to operate the franchise until 2025 but a break clause could be activated in 2020 if it fails to hit performance targets.