01.11.17
EGIP into final testing phase as first full Edinburgh to Glasgow journey completed
The ScotRail Alliance successfully tested its first Class 385 on the full journey between Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street in the early hours of this morning.
The journey builds on the previous test between Edinburgh and Linlithgow last month and stands as a major step forward for the EGIP plans.
There will be continual trials of the new stock across the Edinburgh-Glasgow Line for the next few weeks before it is official opened for public use.
“This morning’s trial was a massive step towards the introduction of electric passenger trains on the newly electrified Edinburgh to Glasgow mainline,” commented Ian McConnell, director of programmes and transformation at ScotRail Alliance, who spoke to RTM about the trains earlier this year.
“Having a train run successfully along the full route shows real progress. We are building the best railway that Scotland has ever had.”
The Hitachi 385s were official unveiled at the company’s Newton Aycliffe factory last month. They are expected to travel on a number of lines into and out of Glasgow and Edinburgh, including Stirling/Dunblane/Alloa.
Hitachi Rail Europe programme manager, Andy Radford, said: “We are really pleased that our new trains can now be tested on the newly electrified Edinburgh to Glasgow routes. We will continue to work closely with the ScotRail Alliance to ensure the trains deliver the benefits to future passengers as soon as possible.”
Speaking to RTM exclusively earlier this month, Alex Hynes, managing director of ScotRail Alliance, said the Class 385 fleet will, alongside the refurbished HSTs, mean 90% of the operator’s fleet will be either new or revamped by 2020. The other 10% is already too modern to require any work.
While Hynes did acknowledge that the alliance was aiming to roll out the trains onto the network by December, he said no promises can be made until the fleet is fully tested on the newly electrified stretch between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
RTM’s full interview with Hynes appears in the November/December edition, which you can receive for free by subscribing here.
Top image: ScotRail
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