THE head of an embattled English train firm has been named the new boss at ScotRail.
Alex Hynes will leave his post as managing director of Arriva Rail North to replace Phil Verster as head of the ScotRail Alliance, a partnership between train company Abellio ScotRail and track operator Network Rail.
Verster’s departure was announced on Friday following months of crit-icism of the service’s performance. He will move to lead the new East West rail project linking Oxford and Cambridge. The changes will take place later this year and yesterday Hynes called his new job “hugely exciting”.
News of Hynes’ departure broke two days before a ballot on potential strike action at Arriva Rail North ends. Transport workers union RMT called the vote over an “unacceptable” pay offer made to staff on the Northern train franchise.
Hynes, who has almost two decades of experience in the industry and spent three and a half years in his last role, said: “I am delighted to have been appointed to lead the ScotRail Alliance, this cutting-edge arrangement which brings together the management of ScotRail and Network Rail to deliver the very best for customers.
“The ScotRail Alliance is delivering one of the largest programmes of investment, change and modern- isation since the railway was built. To be part of that, and the plans to vastly improve services and capacity for customers, is hugely exciting for me.”
Last week, Verster, 53, appeared before a Holyrood committee and revealed Scottish Government plans to give a week’s free train travel to ScotRail season ticket-holders could collapse as money in a £1.8 million fund controlled by his firm has been earmarked for other initiatives.
Yesterday, Transport Scotland insisted it will go ahead, saying: “We are grateful to Phil Verster for his contribution and we wish him well in his new role. Alex Hynes is very experienced and highly regarded in the industry, and we look forward to working with him.
“We will arrange an early meeting with Mr Hynes upon his arrival to discuss how we can assist Abellio ScotRail as they strive to further improve performance and the overall passenger experience.
“We will shortly confirm more details of a week’s free travel in 2017 for season ticket-holders and have a series of further positive announcements and initiatives in the pipeline.”
Verster spent less than two years at the top of Scotland’s national railway, during which time frustrated commuters called for the Dutch franchise-holder to be stripped of its £7 billion contract.
Dominic Booth, managing director of Abellio UK, said yesterday that things will get better, stating: “Alex has a proven track record delivering rail improvement and investment programmes, and is the ideal replacement.”
“We are currently investing in a fleet of 70 new faster, longer and greener trains, which will transform the rail travel experience of our customers and we are delighted to have Alex in place to lead this work.”
However, Scottish Labour transport spokesman Neil Bibby said: “Mr Hynes will have a lot of work to do.
“Passengers are fed-up with delayed, overcrowded and cancelled trains. ScotRail’s performance simply isn’t good enough.”LibDem Mike Rumbles MSP added: “The transport minister and the new managing director need to act quickly to fix the recent poor performance of ScotRail which has brought misery to thousands of passengers.”
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