Chapter 1: Why are we doing this?

An Ageing Fleet

ScotRail currently operate a diverse fleet of 145 diesel trains and 203 electric trains. We are faced with a growing challenge around the age of the ScotRail fleet which is made up of some of the oldest passenger trains in Great Britain. ScotRail will soon be the last operator of each of its legacy fleets in Great Britain.

We are taking action to replace the following ScotRail trains that are reaching the end of their useful life.

Diesel

High Speed Train – Class 43 & Mark 3

These trains currently serve our InterCity corridors between Glasgow/Edinburgh to Aberdeen or Inverness. These trains were built in the 1970s and have been a staple feature across the rail network in Great Britain.

Image of High Speed Train - Class 43 and Mark 3

Class 153

The Class 153s were built in the late 1980s and were since refurbished in 2020 to provide upgraded facilities and additional space for bikes and sporting equipment to support active travel on the West Highland line.

Class 153 train

Class 156

First built in the late 1980s, our Class 156 fleet has served passengers across the length and breadth of Scotland. These trains currently operate on the Glasgow South Western Line, Maryhill Line, Shotts Line and the West Highland Line in conjunction with the upgraded Class 153s.

Class 156 train

Class 158

These trains were first constructed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They are widely recognised across the Scottish rail network, serving passengers on the Aberdeen to Inverness line, Borders Railway, Far North Line, Fife Circle (including Levenmouth rail link), Glasgow/Edinburgh to Inverness, Kyle of Lochalsh line and also the Maryhill Line.

Class 158 train

Class 170

Built in the late 1990s into the early 2000s, the Class 170s represent ScotRail’s most modern diesel fleet. These trains work in conjunction with the Class 158s by serving passengers across the same route sections of the rail network.

Class 170 train

Electric

Class 318

First constructed in the mid-1980s, the Class 318s are ScotRail’s oldest electric trains and have supported cleaner rail journeys across the Glasgow suburban network from the 1990s to the present day.

Class 318 train

Class 320/3 and Class 320/4

These train types were constructed between 1989 and 1990 and are a regular feature of the electrified suburban network having served the following routes:

  • North Clyde Line
  • Whifflet Line
  • Inverclyde Line
  • Paisley Canal Line
  • Argyle Line
  • Cathcart Circle Lines
  • Glasgow to Lanark (including Motherwell)
Class 320/3 train Class 320/4 train

Class 334

These electric trains were built between 1999 and 2002. They mainly run on the North Clyde line which stretches between Edinburgh, Airdrie, Milngavie, Balloch and Helensburgh Central, whilst also serving passengers on the Argyle line which stretches from Lanark all the way to Dalmuir

These trains are familiar to passengers across the Scottish rail network, however within the next 15 years, two thirds of our trains will need to be replaced. This includes the diesel and electric trains outlined above which are beginning to approach the end of their useful life. The older these trains get, the more difficult it will become to source spare parts and perform essential maintenance on them. This is likely to adversely affect operational performance, with the resulting burden falling disproportionately on passengers. It is therefore imperative that we maintain the operational sustainability of Scotland’s passenger services.

We know how important our railway is for connecting people and communities, along with generating access to public services, healthcare, employment, education and leisure facilities. This is why we are taking action through this plan to replace these trains with a more modern and reliable fleet.

We can draw on the benefits of our previous experience of delivering modernised passenger services and infrastructure. This was achieved through our ongoing programme of electrification which led to the introduction of Class 380s and Class 385s which have proved popular with passengers due to their comfort, improved reliability and speed.

We are now taking the necessary action to expand this important work to the rest of our rail services.

Policy Context

The broader policy context for our plan links directly to the First Minister’s priorities for the Scottish Government and aligns with our National Transport Strategy and associated transport investment framework.

First Minister’s Priorities

The First Minister set out four priorities for the Scottish Government to:

  • Eradicate Child Poverty;
  • Grow the Economy;
  • Tackle the Climate Emergency; and
  • Ensure the delivery of High Quality and Sustainable Public Services.

Replacing our passenger trains as they reach the end of their useable life will improve the resilience and reliability of rail services whilst also contributing to delivering against these national priorities. We know that our railway can provide access to jobs, education and training opportunities, which are essential for providing parents, carers and young people with a secure income to alleviate poverty pressures. These people stand to lose most if they cannot rely on our rail services.

Scotland’s railway is widely recognised as part of the fabric of the Scottish economy. The benefits of rail travel were highlighted in ‘The Value of Transport’ paper published by Transport Scotland in June 2025. As well as this, research published by Steer in March 2025 shows that ScotRail has a total economic impact of more than £4 billion by supporting 11,300 jobs and through the important part it plays supporting Scotland’s tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors. These are all sectors that Scotland’s success depends on and that we are proud to showcase to our citizens and the rest of the world. Our passenger services will continue to support this regional and economic growth, which is why we must take action to sustain them.

We continue to see the growing impacts of climate change and are determined to ensure that Scotland’s railway continues to play its part in tackling emissions by providing a greener alternative to the car.

ScotRail provides a public service which many people rely on. In order to maintain a high quality and modern service that caters to our passengers needs it is important we take action to replace the ScotRail fleet as it reaches the end of its useful life. This will ensure the operational sustainability of our passenger rail services.

National Transport Strategy

Scotland’s National Transport Strategy 2 (NTS2) sets out an ambitious vision for Scotland’s transport system for the next 20 years as well as the strategic framework for delivering on that vision. The vision is to have a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system, helping deliver a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland for communities, businesses and visitors. It is underpinned by four interconnected priorities: reduces inequalities, takes climate action, helps deliver inclusive economic growth and improves our health and wellbeing. Our strategy to replace life-expiring ScotRail trains directly supports each of these four priorities.

Reduces Inequalities

A reliable, accessible and affordable rail network provides access to jobs and education opportunities, connects our diverse communities and ensures we have a rail system that works for everyone.

Takes Climate Action 

We are committed to attracting more people away from their cars and onto the railway to reduce Scotland’s transport emissions. We will continue to run a railway that is climate responsible which is why we are replacing our trains with greener alternatives to reduce rail emissions.

Helps Deliver Inclusive Economic Growth

A reliable and resilient railway moves people and goods across the country. This has direct benefits for our tourism, hospitality, cultural and leisure sectors which are all economically important for Scotland’s success.

Improves Our Health and Wellbeing

Air quality will be improved if we procure cleaner and greener trains which will result in more reliable, efficient, affordable and accessible rail services. This can attract people away from their cars which will decrease the levels of harmful pollutants in our air.

The Climate Crisis

Climate change continues to be a global issue. Addressing it remains at the forefront of the Scottish Government’s priorities and has been re-emphasised by the First Minister. The Scottish Government has set a legally-binding target to reduce emissions and transition to a net zero economy and society by 2045. Since 2016, the transport sector has consistently been the largest contributor to Scotland’s emissions. This has not changed post-pandemic, with transport (including international shipping and aviation) accounting for around 33% of total Scottish emissions in 2023.

Contributing only 1% of total transport emissions in the same year, rail remains a very low carbon form of transport. Rail will play a central role in reducing Scotland’s transport emissions, through encouraging modal shift by being seen as an attractive and convenient alternative to the car, and also from reducing rail’s own emissions by the introduction of cleaner and greener trains to the network.

Figure 3: Share of greenhouse gas emissions by transport mode in Scotland (2023)

This pie chart shows the share of green house gas emissions by transport mode in Scotland:

  • 38.%  Cars
  • 13.8% LGVs
  • 12.0% HGVs
  • 12.1% Domestic shipping and fishing
  • 11.5% International aviation
  • 3.6% Domestic aviation
  • 2.6% Other
  • 2.5% Bus and coach
  • 1.9% International shipping
  • 1.0% Rail 

Environmental sustainability has been a key feature throughout the development of our plan to sustain Scotland’s rail services, and our plan directly supports the Scottish Government’s wider efforts to tackle climate change.

Firstly, we recognise and celebrate the environmental benefits of rail travel and it is important that we continue to encourage more people away from their car and onto the railway.

Whilst rail remains a very low-emission mode of transport, we need to make sure our services continue to be reliable, resilient and efficient to ensure rail travel will be seen as a credible alternative to the car. Replacing our fleet is essential.

Secondly, our plan to replace life-expiring rolling stock will support our wider efforts to tackle rail’s own emissions. Decarbonising Scotland’s passenger rail services remains a priority for the Scottish Government. In July 2020, Transport Scotland published the Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan when Scotland, and the rest of the world, was grappling with the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2020 plan has been subject to continuous improvement and gave a commitment to review the plan in a post-Covid environment.

The past five years have allowed us to reflect and to reassess our plan, in light of the technological developments, and against the significant financial, budgetary and supply chain pressures. Our approach to replacing life-expired ScotRail trains will be informed by Scotland’s legally binding net zero targets. This is balanced against the need to avoid excessive disruption to our passenger services, coupled with the financial and technological landscape we face as we progress with the journey to replace our passenger trains.

We have a responsibility to reduce rail emissions which is why we have identified viable solutions to replace ScotRail trains with cleaner alternatives, and an assessment of these options can be found at Chapter 2 of this strategy.

More broadly we have a wider transport approach to decarbonising the sector through investment in low emission buses and ferries.

Progress Since 2020

We know that Scotland’s railway has a lot to offer and that is why it is important that we take the necessary steps to sustain our passenger services to ensure more people can benefit from using the network.

Recognising the importance of rail travel, the Scottish Government has continued to invest in opening new stations to connect more people across the country with Scotland’s rail network.

There are new stations at Reston, East Linton, Kintore and Inverness Airport which open up pathways for communities to access employment, education, leisure and cultural opportunities.

In 2024, passenger services returned to Levenmouth, previously the largest urban area in Scotland not served by rail. This was part of a programme of investments to deliver social inclusion and sustainable economic growth to the area. Through Scottish Government investment of over £116 million, we delivered 19 single track kilometres of new and reinstated railway, two new modern accessible stations at Leven and Cameron Bridge and infrastructure with future provision for electrification of the line.

Public ownership of ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper means we can rightly focus on the needs of our passengers.

There has been continued improvement in the performance of ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper services. ScotRail’s Public Performance Measure (a measure of reliability and lateness) and passenger satisfaction is well above the average across the rest of Great Britain. The Caledonian Sleeper’s performance has also improved under public ownership and its passenger numbers have grown significantly, representing one of the strongest post-pandemic recoveries across all GB train operators.

Having publicly owned train operators has proven essential for driving performance, which is key to encouraging more people to travel by rail. ScotRail’s passenger numbers have continued to grow year on year since public ownership and it is important that we work collaboratively with our rail delivery partners to continue to build on this upward trend.

The aftermath of the pandemic has placed considerable strain on the Scottish Government’s budget, requiring us to make carefully considered investment choices to help manage public finances responsibly. Despite the challenges of the post-2020 landscape, we remain committed to delivering our rolling programme of electrification and the subsequent decarbonisation of Scotland’s railway. Already three quarters of ScotRail passengers are travelling on electrified services, with the Barrhead line being the most recent addition to the electrified network.

In December 2025, we will complete the electrification and enhancement of the line to East Kilbride. Through over £143 million of Scottish Government investment, passengers on this line will benefit from cleaner, greener, quieter and more efficient services along with a new station at East Kilbride which opened on 20 August 2025 and a relocated accessible station at Hairmyres which opened on 19 May 2025.

Scotland’s railway is becoming greener, more efficient, attractive and accessible. The Scottish Government is spending £4.2 billion to operate, maintain and renew Scotland’s railway between 2024 and 2029. This supports our efforts to tackle the climate emergency and deliver on our net zero ambitions, while also creating sustained, skilled employment in the rail sector through a just transition.

Investing in the workforce is essential: we must capitalise on existing skills whilst identifying and creating opportunities to upskill the current workforce to future-proof Scotland’s railway.

The Rail Cluster Builder is a specific example of the Scottish Government supporting the rail industry. Funded by Scottish Enterprise, Transport Scotland and Skills Development Scotland, the Rail Cluster Builder Phase 2 is a three-year project connecting more Scottish SMEs with rail sector organisations, strengthening and deepening relationships with key stakeholders across the sector and helping to create innovative, green solutions that will support net zero targets.

Maximising the benefits of rail freight has continued to be a priority for the Scottish Government. Transporting more goods through rail freight is key to tackling Scotland’s transport emissions which is why we have set an ambitious rail freight growth target of 8.7% for Control Period 7. This target has helped to change industry behaviours and has put a real and tangible focus on growing rail freight.

In 2024/25, 642 million net tonne kilometres of rail freight was moved in Scotland, representing an increase of 3.2% on the previous year. The figures for 2024/25 also show that rail freight in Scotland has become more efficient with fewer trains carrying more product. We continue to work in partnership with the private sector to encourage more businesses to utilise rail freight.

It is important to recognise and celebrate the considerable progress Scotland’s railway has made since 2020. In collaboration with our delivery partners, we have taken the necessary steps to make rail travel more attractive, affordable and available for people across Scotland.

This strategy represents the next step towards advancing this progress further, as we invest to deliver a modern, reliable and resilient fleet for our passengers.