Scotland introduces electric trains to Dunblane
Electric trains have begun running to Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane, as part of a new timetable introduced by ScotRail in December.
The first trains to carry passengers ran late on December 8, as positioning moves to get electric multiple units (EMUs) into place for the first trains the following day. They are operating on newly energised parts of the Scottish network, which were completed during the late autumn.
The electric services run from both Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street. This involves a sharp increase in the number of new Hitachi Class 385 EMUs in traffic in Scotland.
SR’s new timetable also features the introduction of a new direct service between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley running via Cumbernauld and Falkirk Grahamston, which also uses the ‘385s’.
Also introduced at the same time were several ‘classic’ High Speed Train sets. These replace diesel multiple units, with some Class 156s, ‘158s’ and ‘170s’ cascaded to Northern where they will be used to boost capacity.
However, only one refurbished Inter7City HST set is currently in operation north of the border, with a second due before the end of the year. SR plans to have 26 sets, but there have been delays in their refurbishment at Wabtec Rail, Doncaster ( RAIL 864).
SR’s flagship route between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk High is also now entirely operated by Class 385s, although this is a year later than planned. There are 32 of the 70 sets ordered in Scotland, with a further 34 to be delivered from Newton Aycliffe and four from Pistoia (Italy).
In total, SR introduced some 100 new services as part of its new weekday timetable, taking the number of trains running to 2,400.
The first day was not without problems, with 39 cancellations reported - mostly due to staff shortages. There were also signalling problems in the Aberdeen area. Q See Haigh, pages 78-79.