The Scottish Government has announced the commencement of procurement to replace its Intercity fleet. This initiative aims to find a new fleet to replace the 25 High Speed Trains (HST) currently serving the InterCity routes between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Inverness.Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop said:
“Resilient, reliable ScotRail services are key to encouraging more people to choose to travel by train for work, leisure and learning."
“Over 4 million passengers travelled on InterCity trains between our key cities in the last year – we want to encourage even more people to do so. This procurement will enable us to replace the current Intercity fleet with trains which provide improved facilities and accessibility.
“Any replacement fleet is expected to be more energy efficient and therefore will significantly reduce emissions, reduce operating costs and be more in line with current passenger expectations, including for accessibility. The procurement process ensures Scottish suppliers will be able to offer to provide their services to potential bidders.
“This latest milestone in our rolling programme of decarbonisation will ensure the reliability of our Intercity routes for the long-term, making Scotland’s railway a more attractive and greener travel choice.”
Further details on this announcement will be shared when the contract is awarded in 2025. It is also expected that the refreshed Decarbonisation Action Plan will be published in Spring 2025, and this will detail updated targets for replacing ScotRail’s existing diesel fleets.
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