SCOTRAIL launched its new Hitachi Class 385 EMUs into squadron services from Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Falkirk High on July 24 after a number of delays.
Driver and unions are happy now the curved windscreen has been replaced by a flat design, with the sets having been safety approved by the ORR.
While there will be a limited number of sets initially – supplemented by on-loan Class 365s – ScotRail will gradually increase use on this key route before rolling the trains out in service on other routes across the Central Belt.
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Their introduction is the culmination of a £475million rolling stock order and an £858m electrification project that has also seen station upgrades, extended platforms at Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley to accommodate longer trains, and on-going work to electrify the line to Dunblane and Alloa.
Other routes Class 385s will serve include Edinburgh to North Berwick; South Glasgow suburban routes to Cathcart Circle/Lanark; Glasgow to Falkirk Grahamston via Cumbernauld; and Glasgow Central to Edinburgh via Shotts.
ScotRail Alliance managing director Alex Hynes said it was “a significant moment as we work to build the best railway Scotland has ever had”.
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