The Scottish Government has today [3 September] announced that procurement will begin to replace its intercity trains.
The procurement, which will be led by ScotRail on behalf of Transport Scotland, will seek a replacement for the High Speed Train (HST) fleet which operates on its InterCity routes between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Inverness.
The decision follows a process of appraisal to look at different options to replace the trains.
These options take into consideration the potential transition from diesel power to HST electric trains, the availability of funding and affordability challenges.
READ MORE: Transport Scotland publishes ScotRail Peak Fare Removal Pilot report
A procurement notice will be published in the coming weeks with a more detailed delivery timeline available at the point of contract award.
Cabinet secretary for transport Fiona Hyslop said: “Resilient, reliable ScotRail services are key to encouraging more people to choose to travel by train rather than car, to cutting our transport emissions and to helping to move people around Scotland for work, leisure and learning.
“That is why we must build on our investment in Scotland’s railway infrastructure by investing in the services and trains which connect our key cities.
“Over 4 million passenger journeys were made on InterCity trains in the last year. We want to maintain and where possible, increase that number choosing to go by train between Scotland’s cities.
“We want to replace the current Intercity fleet with trains which provide more comfort and accessibility for passengers on these routes.
“This planned investment will ensure the reliability of our Intercity routes for the long-term, will reduce emissions from Intercity services and will support our efforts to decarbonise Scotland’s railways.”
Achievements and innovations in rail will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector
