New rail union intervenes in ScotRail boycott row over Israeli settlement-linked firm

Rail union Aslef has already warned that ScotRail drivers would refuse to operate the new trains (Image: NQ)

A NEW trade union has intervened in the row over an Israeli settlement-linked firm shortlisted to build ScotRail’s new suburban trains.

Rail union TSSA has urged ministers to exclude Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) over its links to the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

CAF is one of five manufacturers shortlisted to build as many as 106 new trains for ScotRail’s suburban fleet, with the new vehicles expected to enter service in the early 2030s.

The company has been involved in the expansion of the Jerusalem Light Rail system, which connects parts of Jerusalem with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

TSSA’s intervention comes after fellow rail union Aslef warned that ScotRail drivers would refuse to operate the new trains if CAF wins the contract.

Now, TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust has said that the Scottish Government should ensure CAF doesn’t build those trains.

"The Scottish Government should think again and make it clear that no train across Scotland's railways should be built by a company involved in any way with the expansion of illegal settlements,” she said.

(Image: Newsquest)

"To do otherwise would be both to ignore and to increase the suffering of the Palestinian people. Our union stands in solidary with ASLEF members in Scotland and fully supports the position they have taken."

Kevin Lindsay, Scotland organiser at the train drivers' union Aslef, has written a letter to Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn in which he hits out at the firm.

He wrote: "This company operates and is helping expand the Jerusalem Light Rail system connecting illegal settlements with West Jerusalem. These lines constitute war crimes under international law, accordingly CAF is included in the UN database of complicit businesses."

The new trains, which could number as many as 106, are expected to enter service in the early 2030s, and serve on routes including East Kilbride, Fife, Borders, and the Glasgow inner suburban routes, as well as services between Glasgow and Motherwell, Larkhall, Lanark and Shotts.