Conclusion

Our strategy to replace ScotRail trains as they reach the end of their useable life is key to ensuring we have a railway that is resilient and reliable for our passengers both now and into the future. However, our rail system does not exist within a vacuum, and it is important that our approach to replacing our trains is pragmatic, considers passenger needs, emissions targets, technological maturity, infrastructure requirements and the financial landscape.

These factors have informed our approach to ensuring that we can continue to deliver rail services that are operationally, financially and environmentally sustainable. We have already commenced the procurement of our InterCity and Suburban fleets and this will help to sustain and modernise services on these routes for years to come, while also releasing newer diesel trains to make our rural services more attractive, resilient and reliable.

Our plan will help to deliver against the Scottish Government’s legally binding emissions reduction targets by 2045, as we seek to introduce more zero-emission trains to our rail network. Our plan also directly supports wider ambitions to decarbonise Scotland’s transport sector and is aligned with wider strategies across the public transport network.

The long-term plans for our InterCity and rural markets will continue to develop as technological advances are realised. We are taking action to ensure passengers continue to benefit from Scotland’s railway and we will continue to work collaboratively with our rail delivery partners to attract more people onto our rail services.