Abellio is Scotland’s new railway operator and to celebrate its launch they are giving away free tickets worth £1 million. The Dutch firm Abellio says the ticket giveaway of Scotrail through their website is to attract new customers and to thank old customers. Abellio is taking over from former franchisee First Group to start the new 10-year Scotrail contract.
Abellio bosses want to push up passenger count to 100 million per year by 2018. They are planning to spend £370 million on new trains on the longer routes of the Glasgow to Edinburgh line. Refurbishment of the old trains is under way at a cost of 30 to 40 million pounds. The new franchisee company is planning to offer free travel to job-seekers, their nationwide smart-card and also an integrated transport network to make travel easier.
CEO of Abellio Group, Jeff Hoogesteger, said a new chapter begins in the long story of Scotland’s railways. Derek Mackay, Transport Minister, said it is important that the new operator delivers not only a reliable and successful rail service but also be an enabler for economic growth, as the franchise is the single biggest contract by the Scottish government.
