A QUARTER of the UK’s privatised rail operations are back in the public sector on Friday, following the Scottish government’s takeover of Scotrail services from a failed privateer.

Scotrail has returned to public control after passengers suffered a catalogue of failures, including unreliable services and rising fares, at the hands of Abellio, a subsidiary of the Netherlands’ state-owned rail operator.

This takes the proportion of train services in public hands to 25 per cent, the highest percentage since the railways were privatised in 1994.