OUR NEW TRAINS? THEY WERE MADE IN 1979
NEW ROLLING STOCK REPLACED WITH OLD CARRIAGES NEARLY TWO YEARS AFTER SCOTRAIL PLEDGE
Passengers on one of ScotRail’s busiest lines have seen modern trains replaced with carriages built 38 years ago.
Commuters on the Gourock to Glasgow line are furious after the modern rolling stock was removed to train new drivers.
Instead of like- for- l ike replacements, they have been given trains from the 70s.
The move by ScotRai l comes close to two years after then transport minister Derek Mackay promised a “revolution in rail services across Scotland”.
ScotRail managing director Phil Verster said at the time: “This is a really si g ni fi c ant moment in our mission to transform Sc o t l a nd ’ s railway.
“In t h ree years’ time, the service that we provide to our customers will be unrecognisable. Our new electric f leet will be running between Glasgow and Edinburgh, our hi g h- s pe e d trains will be l inking our seven cities and we will have hundreds more services and thousands more seats available to customers across Scotland – particularly in Aberdeen, the North East and Fife.”
With 15 months left on Verster’s timetable, the service from Inverclyde to Glasgow is unrecognisable – but for all the wrong reasons.
The line takes thousands of passengers from stations in Gourock, Greenock, Port Glasgow and Paisley into Scotland’s busiest station, Glasgow Central, every day.
Passengers at Port Glasgow station lined up to criticise ScotRail’s decision.
Chris Steele, 27, from Gre enock , sa i d : “We wondered if they thought they could pap us off with these old trains as they think this is a poorer area.
“The trains are creaky and often cold – and there’s no wifi or chargers.”
Elaine Murray, 41, of Port
These old trains are creaky and are often cold – and there’s no wifi or chargers
Paisley, I know all too well how frustrating the experience can be on the Inverclyde line, particularly if you have to travel on a train built in the 1970s.”
The West of Scot land MSP added: “What is most frustrating, however, are the delays, cancellations and overcrowding that passengers continue to face.
“With so much disruption on the railways now, it’s clear that passengers do not feel they are getting a fair deal. “Passengers deserve a break. That’s why Labour are calling for a fare freeze for all passengers in 2017 – not just those on season tickets – and we want to see profits invested back in our railways.”
ScotRail have 16 threecarriage sets of the 314s, which were built in York in 1979.
The Class 380s were built in Germany between 2009 and 2011 and there are 38 in the fleet.
A ScotRail source said: “Class 314 trains are running on the Inverclyde line just now because the Class 380 trains that are usually on this route are being used on other routes for driver training. This is planned activity.”
It’s understood the drivers being trained in the 380s are based at depots in the Edinburgh area.
We told last month how ScotRail will introduce other rolling stock in 2018 that is so old that the engine has been on display in a museum.
The four-decade- old diesel high- speed engines are due to start operating in a bid to increase passenger capacity.
One of the first ones made went on display at the National Railway Museum in York in October to mark its 40th anniversary.
Scottish ministers promised the “rail revolution” in March 2 015, a month before Abellio’s contract to run our trains started.
We revealed last month that performance levels for the four weeks to December 10 have dipped below the point at which the Dutch operators risk being stripped of their £7billion, 10-year contract.
The ScotRail Alliance said they’ll spend £475 million over the next seven years on their biggest train improvement programme yet. They added that 90 per cent of their train f leet will either be new or fully refurbished by the end of that period.
A total of 70 new trains will be introduced to the fleet from autumn onwards.
A ScotRa il Al l ianc e spokeswoman confirmed Class 380 trains had been diverted from the Inverclyde line.
She added: “We’re going through the biggest change and improvement in our railway infrastructure since the Victorian era.
“This includes upgrades to trains, new roll ing stock, driver training and increased capacity across the network.
“This is an extraordinary programme of works and will give Scotland a railway of which we can be truly proud.”