The Scotsman

Charging ahead – new electric train runs on the mainline link between cities

First of the Class 385 fleet carries out trial run between Glasgow and Linlithgow before full test programme

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The long- awaited redevelopm­ent of Scotland’s busiest railway to ok a significan­t step towards completion this week as an electric train travelled along part of the route for the first time.

One of the new Class 385 Hitachi electric trains – which has still to be f i tted with i nteriors – successful­ly t r ave ll e d b e t ween Edinburgh and Linlithgow at 2am on Wednesday.

It i s one of a fleet of r ol l i ng st o ck co m m i s s i o n e d fo r th e ne w l y el e c t r i f i e d Ed i n b u r g h - G l a s g o w mainline via Falkirk High, which is us e d b y t h o u s a n d s o f c o mmute r s ever y day.

The trial marked the first time that an electric train has travelled on any section of the route, which has linked S cotl and’s t wo big gest ci t i es s i nce 1842.

Scotrail bosses said that once final safet y checks on the infrastruc­ture along the remainder of the route were complete, full testing of the new trains would begin.

Th e ne w fl e e t i s du e to en t e r passenger ser vice over the next few mo nt h s , of f e r i n g fa s t e r jo u r n e y s and more seats for passengers. The Edinburgh- Glasgow Improvemen­t Project ( EGIP) has seen platforms al o n g th e ro u t e le n g t h e n e d an d Haymarket and Queen Street stations rebuilt to handle longer trains and growing passenger numbers.

But the electrific­ation of the route has been twice delayed, with electric t r ains ori gi nally exp ected to b e i n operation from December last year. A second completiti­on date of July was similarly missed.

Sc o t R a i l Al l i a n c e pr o g r a m m e s di r e c t o r Ia n Mc C o n n e l l sa i d : “We dn e s d a y ’s tr i a l wa s a hu g e l y important step towards completing the electrific­ation of the line between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Having a train run on the route is one of the fi n a l p h a s e s o f t h e e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n process.

“Tha ti t h a s g o n e s o wel lt e l l s u s th a t we ar e a l mos tr e a dy to b e g i n the next stage – which is to star t ful - ly testing the new trains themselves on the line.

“We are building the best railway t hat S cotl and has ever had. When we replace the diesel trains with the brand new, state of the ar t, electric fl e e t w e wi l l de l i v e r en o r m o u s benefits to our customers.

“More seats and faster journeys will completely transform travel between our two biggest cities.”

 ??  ?? 0 One of the new Class 385 trains
0 One of the new Class 385 trains

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