An investment of £120m is being put into the delivery of six new feeder stations situated at strategic locations across the Scottish rail network, accompanied by infrastructural resiliency upgrades to aid in the operation of electrically powered passenger and freight traffic.
These new feeder stations will create better connections to the national grid which will, in turn, increase the capabilities of supplying electrification to the Scottish rail lines. Through electrifying the railway, future passenger and freight growth can be achieved via affording maximised line capacity, whilst also decarbonising a major portion of Scotland’s public transport options through the removal of diesel trains. This comes as a vital step towards achieving Scottish Government’s commitment to decarbonise the passenger rail network by 2035.
Scottish Government Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth recently visited the Ferguslie feeder station, which is set to connect to the network in October. This station comes as the first to be commissioned through the project and acts to support the existing infrastructure near Paisley, whilst also supplying the additional electric power needed to support future decarbonisation of Scotland’s railway.
Jenny Gilruth, Transport Minister said:
“It was great to be in Paisley today to meet the team and to hear more details about the work that will power newly electrified lines and also provides additional capacity to run more trains on the existing network.
“Upgrading the power supply network at this location will enable the introduction of electric trains on services to East Kilbride and Barrhead and this work will be replicated at five other locations across the central belt to support the Scottish Government’s railway decarbonisation programme. Our focus is on ensuring we can complete this work as quickly as possible as we work towards our net zero ambitions.
“We want a rail infrastructure for Scotland that helps to cut emissions, to provide sustainable transport for people and for freight, and which provides fair work and highly skilled employment opportunities. This project delivers greener travel options for people and for moving freight which will ultimately lead to the removal of many more vehicles from the roads in Scotland.”
Lesley Pringle, project manager for traction power at Network Rail said:
“The £120m investment from the Scottish Government for this programme is key to helping us meet our target to decarbonise Scotland’s railway by 2035.
“Ferguslie is the first of the new feeder stations to be commissioned and it will boost the electricity supply to the rail network enabling greener and more sustainable travel options when the electrification projects are complete.
The installation of the Ferguslie feeder station is virtually complete, with the next step to be the addition of transformers that will allow the station to connect to the National Grid. These will see a 132,000-volt supply passed through them, which will then allow the feeder station to power the electrified rail network.
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