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Passengers warned to expect delays as next stage of Scottish electrification begins

Passengers in central Scotland have been warned that services will be delayed for months as the ScotRail Alliance continues its programme of electrification.

Replacement bus services will be introduced at some points on the route before 11am on Sundays and after 8.30pm on Sunday to Thursday evenings between 4 September and 8 December and between 8 January and 31 March next year.

The Glasgow-Edinburgh via Falkirk High, Perth/ Dunblane/ Stirling-Edinburgh and Glasgow-Alloa/Dundee/Aberdeen/Inverness routes will all be affected.

David Dickson, ScotRail Alliance’s infrastructure director, said: “Central belt electrification will allow us to run faster, longer, greener trains and cut journey times while increasing the number of seats available. The work we are delivering represents a huge investment in Scotland’s railway that will help transform travel on our network.

“We understand the inconvenience this work will cause our customers and every effort has been made to minimise disruption as much as we possibly can. We are urging people to check their journey now and certainly before they set off. All of the information that people will need to plan their journey during these improvement works is already available on the ScotRail app and website. We will of course have extra staff on hand at key stations to assist customers.”

The first electric trains are due to start running in Scotland in autumn 2017.

However, the ORR’s annual assessment of Network Rail Scotland warned that key electrification projects in Scotland, including as part of the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP), are in danger of missing milestones.

For full details of the disrupted services, click here.

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