Chapter 5: Rural
Scotland’s transport network provides a lifeline for our rural communities and this undoubtedly extends to our railway. It is important that passengers from rural areas can continue to benefit from reliable, resilient, accessible and efficient rail services.
Beyond this our rural trains provide a front-row seat for passengers to admire Scotland’s natural beauty from our mountainous regions to our dramatic coastlines these services truly highlight what Scotland has to offer. Every year tourists come to Scotland to see and explore these landscapes and our railway can provide a cleaner and convenient way for them to enjoy Scotland. Tourism is one of Scotland’s most important industries and getting more people to visit our rural communities can help to boost local economies and growth.
Over time the diesel trains that operate on our rural routes will reach the end of their useful life and will be phased out from the network. This process will take time due to the geographical challenges of these lines and it may be the case that it is not a one size fits all approach in terms of our solutions for these routes. However, it is important that we develop a plan that can sustain these services while we explore the options for replacement trains.
Our Plan
As we progress with the replacement of our suburban fleet, this will free up the newer diesel trains that currently operate on the Fife and Borders routes. These Class 170s and 158s will be cascaded onto the rural network to replace the life-expiring diesel trains that currently operate on these lines. This will ensure that our rural communities continue to benefit from a reliable, resilient and more modern rail service.
We are keen to continue modernising our rural services, not just the way that the rolling stock operating on these routes is powered. It is important that our trains are equipped with the facilities that cater to passenger needs, particularly as there is overwhelming potential to capitalise on the rural leisure market.
In May 2025, ScotRail launched a trial which saw trains operating in the Scottish Highlands fitted with equipment that connects to satellite technology to improve the reliability of digital connectivity. Six class 158 trains that operate in the north of Scotland from Inverness to Wick, Thurso, Kyle of Lochalsh, and Aberdeen have been fitted with the equipment for the six-month trial. The trial seeks to deliver benefits to passengers on these routes, which include:
- Improved customer Wi-Fi.
- Improved GPS tracking of the trains to enable joined-up public transport journeys.
- Improved on-train journey information for customers.
- Live on-board CCTV access and download.
If the trial is successful, the same technology will be rolled out across our other rural lines. Innovative solutions such as this are essential for enhancing the passenger experience and supports the Scottish Government’s commitment to provide better services to our rural communities.
Our rural lines attract passengers who travel for sport and leisure and in 2020 ScotRail introduced five Class 153s onto the West Highland Line. These ‘Highland Explorer’ trains were upgraded to support active travel by providing space for bikes, skis and other sporting equipment. Innovations such as this are key to fully realising the potential of our rural markets and will promote tourism, particularly for those interested in outdoor sport and support climate-friendly transportation.
We continue to consider the future of our rolling stock solutions for our rural routes, taking cognisance of technology development. While we do this, we will continue to work collaboratively with our delivery partners to ensure that we make best use of what we already have and continue to provide an attractive, resilient and modern service for our passengers.
Long-term Vision
Given the complex geographies of our rural routes, we have identified independently-powered trains as a potential solution to sustaining the future performance of our rural services. These trains could be introduced on the Far North Line, West Highland Lines, Kyle of Lochalsh Line as well as the Glasgow to Southwest and the Aberdeen to Inverness routes. There may not be a one size fits all approach to sustaining services on our rural routes and it is important that we take the time to assess all options against technological maturity and available budgets.
As it stands, the potential options for independently-powered trains include battery-only or hydrogen-powered trains, however, both are still technically and commercially immature and time is needed to allow the supply chain to scale up before these can be deployed on the network. Options will continue to be developed and will be appraised against benefits and costs, capabilities and maturity, to select solutions that meet service requirements effectively and efficiently.
