The need to blame the SNP is like a religious belief. Just to be clear, this is not the fault of any politician despite what anyone says. Or would Ruth sort it out... Ha ha.
First question. The trains have been on test for months. Why did it take so long to discover this. Ask Hitachi who have responsibility for this. The testing process used by Scotrail has worked well as it has identified faults which were not identified by Hitachi. As you will not above, the earliest Scotrail knew about this was 10 weeks ago.
Second question. Assuming first indication of the issue was December we are now talking 12 weeks ago. Why is no solution in place after 12 weeks? A company the size of Hitachi cannot do better than that? Abiello cannot do better than that? When are we going to have a plan in place? Without this indication of timescale how can effective contingency plans be drawn up?
Ask Hitachi again as it is 100% their responsibility. It takes time to sort these issues out and 12 weeks seems reasonable to me. It may be that Hitachi have done such a poor job that it takes much longer. We don't know and you and I have no need or right to a running commentary. Just because you personally don't know of a contingency plan, doesn't mean there isn't one. I don't think Scotrail are putting a personal briefing too high on their list of priorities.
Third question. What has been done to alleviate the issue? This is affecting many people’s ability to get to work. The elected person looking after these people’s interest is Humza. What has he done to ensure the best solutions are being worked on in terms of contingency plans?
As others have noted above, driver training has been suspended pending a solution to the issue and Hitachi are under a lot of pressure to remedy the problem.
It is perfectly reasonable to expect the government to get a grip of the situation and aplly pressure to Hitachi. Perfectly reasonable to expect a contingency plan to have been in place. This is a foreseeable risk that some delay might have happened. They are already late with the electrification works. Far too easy to absolve the government. This has implications for everyday life and it is reasonable to ask those who planned it why it is so badly off programme.
Yes and that is what is being done. Again, you are assuming your own lack of knowledge on a contingency plan is indicative of its absence. Why do you need to know the exact details of plans from organisations which you have no connection with? What do you suggest Humza does? Do you think Hitachi are sitting on their hands as Humza isn't applying pressure?
It's more like it's far to easy to any issue to forward your own political agenda which is exactly what the Tories will do as they have nothing else to offer other than slagging off their enemies.
I do feel your perspective on this is distorted by seeing any criticism of the Scottish Government as an attack on the SNP, compounded by your interest and apparent detailed knowledge of the rail industry . You seem to see blaming the Scottish Govt as a "Tory" ambush . That's nonsense with respect . Your too partisan and clearly have no perspective on the fact the SNP have done nothing but blame Westminster , or as you say "slagging off their enemies" for years. So lets park the politics and deal with facts .
Transport is delegated to Scotland , has been for years . Holyrood wants the decision making . It has it . As a member of the travelling public suffering from this flagship project slipping into farce , it is to Transport Scotland and Abellio I look . I have no relationship with Hitachi . Lets not forget the poor service is not just down to these delayed trains . Its been poor for years on my service . I have correspondence with Transport Ministers and Transport Scotland going back 2 years and I can assure you they are all over this project, all over the terms of the franchise , clearly state they are involved in its terms , its operation, its monitoring . If they have not planned for , or anticipated this kind of circumstance then its them we rightly blame . Its up to them to tackle the manufacturer , not for us . One for corporate lawyers and if the contract to build is poorly drafted , does not to cover the costs of the impact , then the blame again falls on the Transport Secy,. I had a meeting in Scotrail offices ( as an ardent complainer) in 2016 and I pointed out the risks of this project being delayed on the tracks or train build. I was assured it was all signed sealed and buttoned down . Now if a "punter" like me can anticipate a rail project going awry , why couldn't Scotrail , and plan for delays, perhaps an option to extend current leases with penalties from train builder ? So we should all focus our dissatisfaction at our Scottish Government charged with the Transport of Scotland and the operator they selected . Proudly selected according to the letter I have from Keith Brown who I challenged why Abellio with a poor track record was deemed a good choice for Scotland. KB is keeping his head down, has done for years !! He may have to look out a tin hat tho, unless Humza has it !
So like it or not , the blame will and rightly go in the first instance to those in charge of Transport and Rail operation. I would say the same in the unlikely circumstance Ruth was First Minister !!
Anyway . They may well have it all under control and there will be no impact and all will be well . But for now I will continue to endure overcrowding , dirty and delayed/cancelled trains as I have for years under Transport Scotlands watch . So please don't see this stance as anti snp. In my view there is not a lot of intelligence or talent in Holyrood , yellow, red or blue ! But the yellows are currently in charge . Perils of power .Live with it!
