ScotRail 385's, and 125 Group HST Pilot
Faster, longer, greener trains for Scotland are soon to become reality.
The 385's which will be running Scotland's rails from Autumn 2017 are coming closer to completion. A pilot is already available at Edinburgh Waverley.
These 70 new trains will run on Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street (via Falkirk), Edinburgh to Dunblane/Alloa, Glasgow to Dunblane/Alloa, Glasgow to Cumbernauld/Falkirk Grahamston, Edinburgh to North Berwick / Dunbar / Berwick and Edinburgh to Newton/Neilston routes from December 2018 onwards, says Scotrail. 321s and HSTs also join the fleet.
It has also been reported that £475 million is being invested in renewing or refurbishing the ScotRail
fleet over the next seven years. When completed, this major train
improvement programme will mean that 75% of ScotRail trains are either
brand new or newly refurbished. They also say that 7 320's will be introduced on services will be introduced early this year. Here are some statistics about this investment that Abellio Scotrail are making:These 70 new trains will run on Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street (via Falkirk), Edinburgh to Dunblane/Alloa, Glasgow to Dunblane/Alloa, Glasgow to Cumbernauld/Falkirk Grahamston, Edinburgh to North Berwick / Dunbar / Berwick and Edinburgh to Newton/Neilston routes from December 2018 onwards, says Scotrail. 321s and HSTs also join the fleet.
- 180 carriages will be added to the fleet – bringing the total to almost 1,000
- Two-thirds of current ScotRail trains will be refurbished by 2018
- More than 17,000 at-seat power points will be added to trains
- 346 more trains will be equipped with free wifi
- Existing electric trains will begin running on the Edinburgh – Falkirk High –Glasgow Queen St route from December 2016
Some current members of the DMU fleet are likely to be displaced upon arrival of the stock, as reported previously. Class 170s have already departed for Southern. See those links for other Scot Rail fleet plans.
FINALLY, MK3s were bought by The 125 Group, as previously reported. Now, they will be repainted into HST British Rail livery to match 41001. This overhaul will mean the stock is restored and preserved, for use on rail tours.
125 Group: 'This professional work is being carried out for us by Wabtec Rail Scotland at Kilmarnock. First Class coach 11074, Second Class 12092 and Restaurant-Buffet 10206 are all being stripped down, prepared and repainted using state-of-the art equipment, to the same high standard as vehicles in use with mainline Train Operating Companies. As well as making the coaches look fantastic, this will provide good protection from the elements for many years in preservation, where we are not always blessed with the luxuries of covered storage space!"
^Matthew
FINALLY, MK3s were bought by The 125 Group, as previously reported. Now, they will be repainted into HST British Rail livery to match 41001. This overhaul will mean the stock is restored and preserved, for use on rail tours.
- Sat March 26th - Ruddington and Nottingham. This scene will recreate their test runs, back in the day.
- In April, the stock will visit the Mid Norfolk Railway.
125 Group: 'This professional work is being carried out for us by Wabtec Rail Scotland at Kilmarnock. First Class coach 11074, Second Class 12092 and Restaurant-Buffet 10206 are all being stripped down, prepared and repainted using state-of-the art equipment, to the same high standard as vehicles in use with mainline Train Operating Companies. As well as making the coaches look fantastic, this will provide good protection from the elements for many years in preservation, where we are not always blessed with the luxuries of covered storage space!"
^Matthew
