Scotrail fleet unveiled hours after sister engine blaze
● 40-year-old trains drafted in to provide more seats on inter-city routes
One of the vintage trains which Scotrail hopes will transform inter-city travel has caught fire, hours before the operator unveiled the first of the fleet.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) Intercity 125 High Speed Train went up in flames at Exeter in Devon at 5am.
Five hours later, Scotrail Alliance managing director Alex Hynes showed off its new livery on another of the 26-strong fleet at Aberdeen Station.
The 40-year-old trains are being transferred to Scotrail to operate between Edinburgh/glasgow and Aberdeen/inverness from May.
Mr Hynes’ train arrived in Scotland from GWR last week to be repainted with the temporary slogans “A New Era” and “We’re building the best railway Scotland’s ever had”.
It is being used for driver training before being refurbished for passenger service.
The fleet’s £50 million upgrading programme is due to continue until all the trains are in service in May 2019.
Similar trains are also being replaced by Virgin Trains East Coast on routes such as Aberdeen and Inverness to London.
Virgin is introducing Japanese-designed Azuma train with bullet train technology.
But despite their age, the older trains have a good reputation within the rail industry, and are expected to run by Scotrail until 2030.
The Exeter train was not carrying passengers and is thought to have caught fire because of a fuel injector fault.
A GWR spokesman said: “We are currently investigating the cause of a fire in one of our train engines at our Exeter maintenance depot.”
Scotrail said the trains will provide one third more seats, more luggage space, power sockets and better catering.
Mr Hynes said: “The arrival of the first high-speed train is an exciting milestone in our plan to build the best railway Scotland has ever had.
“The investment we are making in high-speed trains is a clear sign of the Scotrail Alliance’s commitment to building a world-class railway for the whole of Scotland.”
Transport minister Humza Yousaf said: “Next year sees the start of a transformed intercity service. When the 26 fullyupgraded trains roll out across the country, I know they will be popular with passengers.”
Nigel Harris, managing editor of RAIL magazine, said: “Don’t be fooled by all this ‘old train’ nonsense. The HSTS are great trains. Once they have been refurbished, they will be ‘as new’ and offer some of the best quality long-distance travel in the UK.”