SCOTTISH Ministers have been urged to drop “childish” and “dogmatic” plans for the public sector to take over the country’s main rail franchise.

The SNP promised in its 2016 Holyrood manifesto it would “ensure that a public sector operator” was able to bid for the ScotRail franchise currently held by Dutch-firm Abellio.

It is understood state-owned ferry operator CalMac is being teed up for the role, with rail unions pushing hard for the change behind the scenes.

However in a new report, former UK Labour transport minister Tom Harris said fares and punctuality, not nationalisation, were the priorities for passengers.

He argued that, despite publicity over problems in the rail industry, the Scottish system was well-run and highly-rated by passengers, with most delays due to the UK-wide nationalised infrastructure company Network Rail, rather than the franchise holder.

He said it would be “expensive, childish and counter-productive” to remove the private sector on ideological grounds, given improvements in the last 15 years.

If the franchise system were to be changed, ministers should switch to a concession system, paying a private operator a fixed fee to run trains, not nationalisation.

Under a concession scheme, the public purse would bear the risk of any losses, but also stand to gain from any profits, rather than the train operating company.

He said Network Rail should also undergo a “radical” shake-up, making its Scottish operation accountable to the Scottish operator rather than the Department of Transport.

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Mr Harris insisted his report, commissioned by Abellio, was independently produced.

The report said the private sector had brought about a “railway renaissance” though new disciplines, strategies and flexibility, but admitted the gains were “difficult to quantify”.

Polling by the Mark Diffley Consultancy and Research found just 17 per cent of passengers thought the rail network as a whole prioritised their needs.

Value for money was their top priority, with 53 per cent rating it as “essential”; politicians should therefore focus on prices and punctuality, not structural reforms, the report said.

“Scotland’s political parties will gain more credit by addressing this area than they will by leading a debate about who should own the trains for which passengers believe they’re paying too much,” the report, ‘Is Scotland on the Right Track?’, said.

“It is not too late to request that when the railways become the subject of political debate, that dogmatism and ideology be relegated and placed underneath a respect for actual facts.”

Mr Harris said: “For the whole of this century we have seen a remarkable railway renaissance. Our polling research has shown that the public in general are complimentary about the performance of Scotland’s railways. However, there are problems, and those problems have led to some politically charged calls for blanket nationalisation.

“The Scottish Government should not ignore this, but also it should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. If it feels the need to change the franchise model, it should consider moving to a concession model where the government shoulders both profit and risk, but the private sector runs the service.

“It would be expensive, childish and counter-productive to dispense with the clear and indisputable benefits of private sector involvement in our railways, without which we would not have experienced the renaissance we have seen.”

Scottish Tory MSP Jamie Greene said: “Nationalisation isn't some magic bullet - as anyone who remembers the days of British Rail knows full well.

“What Scotland needs is a competitive structure for the railways which offers affordable fairs and a quality service. There’s no shortage of companies willing to do this, but it requires strong oversight from the SNP government to ensure that happens.

“That strength has been missing in recent years, and commuters have had to live with the consequences. As Tom Harris says, the job is to improve the way the current structure works, not to go back to the failures of the past.”

The Scottish Government said it expected to make an announcement on a public sector operator bid to run the ScotRail franchise “in the near future”.

A spokeswoman said: “The Harris report acknowledges the importance of securing best value for the public purse from our public contracts. Our fundamental procurement principles of transparency and fairness will continue to be applied consistently to future rail franchises, as will our approach to consultation with the public and key stakeholders.”