Problems found on ScotRail trains following safety checks

A number of ScotRail trains have been found to have defects following essential safety checks which were carried out.

The safety checks took place after Hitachi found a number of their IEP fleets down south were found with issues.

The problems lie with the lifting pocket, which is used to jack and lift the vehicles for maintenance.

Syeda Ghufran, director of engineering for ScotRail, told MFR: "Hitachi notified us of defects with a number of their IEP fleets used by other operators down south.

"As a precaution, Hitachi carried out a safety inspection of our Class 385 electric fleet.

"The vast majority of the trains showed no defects, a small number of trains did pick up some defects and they are currently being stopped - they're not in service.

"We are undertaking further inspections and further analysis just to see why these cracks have appeared and what would be the mitigation plan for these units to be repaired and go back to service.

"The cracks which have been identified on the Class 385 fleet is in the area of the lifting pocket which is affectively the area on the train which is used to jack and lift the vehicles up in a maintenance depot to carry out maintenance activities.

"It doesn't impact the structural integrity of the vehicle and the coach itself.

"That's why it's important to ensure that the structural integrity of the vehicle is maintained which will be in this case."

A spokesperson for ScotRail said: "Hitachi notified us of the faults with a small number of their Inter City Express trains used by other operators LNER and Great Western Railway.

"As a precaution, Hitachi has undertaken an inspection of all our class 385 trains.

"There will be no cancellations on Monday, but a handful of services will run with fewer carriages as a small number of the trains need further inspection."

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