ScotRail still awaiting start date for new Class 385s
SCOTRAIL is working with the Office of Rail and Road and Hitachi Rail Europe (HRE) to smooth the introduction into passenger service of the first Class 385 electric multiple units.
SR has 70 EMUs on order, with four in Scotland for testing at the start of 2018 (385001, 385102104). Two more were delivered on January 17 and 19 (385015 and 385122 respectively). However, no firm date has yet been given for their entry into traffic.
Both SR and HRE also told RAIL that three-car 385002 and four-car 385101 will arrive in the UK from mainland Europe in the next few weeks. They have been undergoing tests at Velim (Czech Republic), followed by further tests in Germany, where they were hauled at speeds of up to 100mph.
Class 385s were due to enter traffic initially on the newly electrified Edinburgh-Glasgow via Falkirk Grahamston route from December. That was ruled out by SR, with Siemens Class 380s used instead.
SR spokesman Angus Duncan told RAIL on January 15: “We’re building the best railway Scotland has ever had - these new trains mean more seats, faster journeys and better services. We’re excited about their arrival and know our customers will love them too.
“Two more Class 385s will be delivered to Scotland this week, and the two trains currently on test in Germany will be returning to the UK shortly. We are working with Hitachi and the Office of Rail and Road to ensure that we can
introduce the ‘385s’ into traffic as soon as we can.”
HRE spokesman Nina Harding told RAIL: “We are continuing to make good progress together with ScotRail and Network Rail, to ensure that the Class 385s are fully tested on the Scottish network and achieve the required approvals which will then allow the first of the new trains to enter into passenger service. In terms of the ones that have been on test in Germany, they are due back in the UK in the next month or so.”
SR Alliance Managing Director Alex Hynes, speaking before the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee at Holyrood on November 8 last year, suggested that one of the delays was due to HRE not having access to the network, owing to the late delivery of the electrification.
“We test each train individually to ensure that it is correctly built and reliable. Each unit has to do a number of fault-free miles before we are prepared to introduce it into traffic,” he said.
“I have decided that I would rather have a more gradual phased introduction to service to maintain our punctuality standards on the route.”
Hynes said at the time: “The answer to your question with regard to the ‘385s’ is that I expect them to be in service as soon as possible in the new year. I cannot give you a cast-iron guarantee, because I am not wholly responsible for that process. We will introduce those services into passenger traffic as soon as we possibly can, as long as it is sensible to do so.”
Transport Scotland ordered the ‘385s’ in October 2014. Forty-six three-car sets (385001385046) and 24 four-car sets (385101-385124) are on order. On Edinburgh-Glasgow they will initially run as seven-car trains, before platform lengthening is completed to allow eight-car trains to run.
They will also be used on newly electrified trains to Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane; on the Shotts line between Edinburgh and Glasgow; as well as on Edinburgh-Glasgow, North Berwick services and Strathclyde routes, including to Newton, Neilston and the Cathcart Circle.