Back to the future for Scotrail
Scotrail's giving passengers a glimpse of what's to come on its new intercity services showing off the first of the rebuilt high speed trains.
The new Inter7City services will connection Glasgow and Edinburgh with Stirling, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness and the first of the sets, which has undergone extensive refurbishment, will begin service between Aberdeen and Edinburgh next week.
While the trains themselves are 40 years old and have run millions of miles in service in England, Scotrail say they have been extensively refurbished and re-engineered.
They're promising:
- More seats
- Increased luggage space
- At seat power sockets
- Better on-board catering
- More toilets
Scotrail Alliance Managing Director Alex Hynes says he's sure they will be hit with passengers.
“This is another major milestone in our plan to build the best railway Scotland has ever had.
“Our Inter7City service will provide more seats, better services, and more comfortable journeys for our customers.
“The investment we are making in these iconic trains is a clear sign of the ScotRail Alliance’s commitment to building a bigger and better railway for the whole of Scotland.”
The launch comes as Scotrail is facing embarassment at having to withdraw its fleet of new class 385 electric trains months after their introduction between Glasgow and Edinburgh,
An issue with the brakes was discovered last week and all the units, built by Hitachi, have been taken out of service while the problem is investigated.
The HST trains have arrived later than originally planned due to delays and Transport Secretary Michael Matheson is hoping this time the roll-out goes smoothly.
“Passengers have looked forward to the arrival of the fully refurbished HST fleet which will bring significant improvements for travellers on our inter-city routes between Scotland’s seven main cities," he says.
"ScotRail and Wabtec, its supplier, have given assurances they remain focused on ensuring the full fleet is in service as quickly and efficiently as possible, meaning even more passengers will soon benefit from faster trains which have the latest standard of comfort, accessibility and catering provision.
“The boost in seating provision will help support the overall 23 per cent increase in capacity being delivered during 2019 as rail continues to grow in popularity across Scotland.”