UK: ScotRail is to procure trains to replace the ageing High Speed Train fleet used on routes between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness, the Scottish government announced on September 3.
ScotRail’s procurement and fleet teams are working with its parent body Scottish Rail Holdings, Transport Scotland and infrastructure manager Network Rail on the process. Transport Scotland said further details and timescales for the open competition would be disclosed when a contract notice is published ‘in the coming weeks’, and it was unable to confirm whether new or existing trains will be sought.
The requirement will be for a train with the amenities and levels of comfort expected by serve long-distance travellers.
‘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’, said Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop.
’Over 4 million passenger journeys were made on inter-city 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 inter-city fleet with trains which provide more comfort and accessibility for passengers on these routes.
‘This planned investment will ensure the reliability of our inter-city routes for the long-term, will reduce emissions from inter-city services and will support our efforts to decarbonise Scotland’s railways.’
ScotRail Managing Director Joanne Maguire said ’today’s announcement is good news for our customers and an important step for ScotRail as we work towards delivering a safe, green, and reliable railway’.
