Passengers' long wait for new trains - it's a tale of two ScotRails

Expectations raised but slow progress towards modernising operator’s ageing fleets

Are you a ScotRail passenger lucky enough to travel in its newest, bright, quiet and spacious trains - complete with full tables if you need to work?

Or are you less fortunate, having to put up with the operator’s much older, noisier and more cramped carriages, some with only smaller or no tables on offer?

ScotRail’s newest electric trains were introduced on routes across the Central Belt including the main line between Edinburgh and Glasgow in 2018 | John Devlin/The Scotsman

It’s becoming a tale of two ScotRails - and runs the risk of developing parallels with the state of ferries at fellow Scottish Government-run operator CalMac.

Joanne Maguire, ScotRail’s managing director, pointedly underlined at a rail conference in January organised by Modern Railways magazine the nationalised operator had one of Britain’s oldest fleets.

That prompted others in the room to spell out the impact it was having, such as unreliable trains breaking down in the Highlands, where services are pretty sparse anyway.

ScotRail’s class 158 diesel trains, which operate on lines north of Inverness, are 36 years old | Niall Laybourne

Nothing happens quickly on the railways, and that seems to particularly be the case when it comes to ordering new trains.

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There was little sign of progress at another rail conference last week, organised by event firm Peloton, three years on from new electric, battery and hydrogen trains being the talk of the steamie at the same event.

Expectations had been raised by ministers announcing they planned to order three new fleets to meet their ambitious target of scrapping ScotRail’s diesel trains by 2035.

The date has now been put back a decade to 2045, with details of how it will be achieved still to be announced, while the procurement process for only one of the fleets has started.

That is to replace second-hand inter-city trains around 45 years old, which may involve more hand-me-downs rather than a brand new green fleet.

One of ScotRail’s 45-year-old fleet of Inter7City trains which are to be replaced | ScotRail

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop told the conference her officials were “working hard to develop plans for replacement of ScotRail’s suburban fleet”.

However, Transport Scotland rail director Bill Reeve had earlier pointed out that diesel trains “will continue to be necessarily a part of our railway for some years yet” - albeit to help take traffic off the roads, since they have lower emissions than cars and lorries.

ScotRail’s less fortunate passengers deserve to know how long until they too can enjoy the best it has to offer.