The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

04/14/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/14/2021 02:22

Rail operator Abellio ScotRail posts losses of £64.5m


Train operator Abellio ScotRail has blamed the early impact of the pandemic on widening losses in its latest annual accounts.

The Dutch-owned company, which runs the Scotland rail franchise, posted a pre-tax loss of £64.5m in the 12 months to 31 March 2020.

In the previous 15-month accounting period, its losses were just over £11m.

The operator said the national lockdown in March last year had a 'significant' impact on its financial performance.

In December 2019, Abellio was stripped of the contract to run ScotRail services by the Scottish government amid criticism of performance levels.

The Scottish government announced last month that the franchise would be taken over by a public sector body from the end of March next year.

In a statement lodged with Companies House, Abellio ScotRail said: 'As a result of government intervention telling people not to travel, there was a significant reduction in passengers travelling with Abellio ScotRail (up to 95% reduction on the prior year).'

Turnover for the year, at £917m, was about £72m down on the previous accounting period, with passenger income falling from £445.3m in 2019 to £360.4m.

Its franchise subsidy from Transport Scotland rose over the same period from £482.8m to £526.3m.

Since March last year, ScotRail has been receiving emergency funding to help it cope with the impact of coronavirus, under an agreement with the Scottish government.

In its statement, ScotRail said that while the Emergency Measures Agreement insulated the company 'as far as reasonable' from the severe financial impacts of the pandemic, 'the expected cashflows across the remainder of the franchise term have been significantly impacted'.

Source: BBC