UK: ScotRail has been authorised to initiate the procurement of 69 electric and battery-electric trains, Scottish government Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop has confirmed.
On September 5, Hyslop said £342m would be invested by the Scottish government in electrifying sections of line in Fife and the Borders and procuring the trains.
Procurement plans
ScotRail expects to issue a contract notice for the trains in autumn 2025. Ongoing electrification work is expected to be completed by 2029, with the new trains expected to arrive in 2031.
The 69 EMUs and BEMUs would replace 42 Class 156 DMUs, and 55 Class 318 and 320 EMUs operating in the Glasgow area.
Transport Scotland said fewer trains would be needed because the new trains will be longer, providing a higher capacity than those they will replace, and would be more reliable and able to be deployed more efficiently.
They are to offer level boarding in a first for ScotRail, and would have ‘modern levels of comfort and passenger features’ including family-friendly areas which will accommodate unfolded pushchairs, more cycle storage, two accessible toilets and enhanced passenger information systems.
Greener and more reliable trains
ScotRail’s Chief Operating Officer David Ross said the investment would ‘allow us to operate greener, more reliable trains, with more seats on board and greater comfort and accessibility’.
Katie Vollbracht, Principal Programme Sponsor for Network Rail, said ‘we are delivering around 140 km of electrification in Fife and the Borders, paving the way for the introduction of battery-electric trains on these routes, which will provide more capacity and reliability and cleaner, quieter, and more sustainable journeys.’
Partial electrification of the Borders railway is planned, including a standalone section of overhead at the Tweedbank end of the route.
