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{{About|the Scottish rail franchise as operated by FirstGroup from 2004 to the present day|the franchise as operated by [[National Express] from 1997 to 2004|ScotRail (1997-2004)}}

ScotRail
File:Scotrail Saltire Livery Class 158.jpg
Overview
Franchise(s)ScotRail
17 October 2004–2014
Main Region(s)Scotland
Other Region(s)Cumbria
Northumberland
Newcastle upon Tyne
Fleet size309
Stations operated341
Parent companyFirst Group
Reporting markSR
Technical
Length3032.0
Other
Websitewww.scotrail.co.uk

ScotRail Railways Ltd. (Scottish Gaelic: Rèile na h-Alba) is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government.[1] The service was initially operated as First ScotRail but was permanently rebranded ScotRail: Scotland's Railway in September 2008.

History

See also: Regional Railways

The ScotRail brand was originally used for services provided in Scotland by British Rail. In 1997, after privatisation, the franchise was awarded to the National Express Group. On 17 October 2004, the franchise was transferred to First Group from National Express resulting in the rebranding from ScotRail to First ScotRail.[2] This was the first time the franchise has been re-let since the privatisation of British Rail. The ScotRail Franchise is a devolved matter for the Scottish Government but the current Franchise was awarded by the Strategic Rail Authority as its agent.

2008 rebrand

File:First ScotRail.jpg
First ScotRail logo (2004-2008)

In September 2008 the Scottish Government's agency Transport Scotland announced that all First ScotRail trains, including those operated by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, would be repainted in a new blue livery with white Saltire markings on the carriage ends.[3] The services will rebranded with less emphasis on the "First" and will be marketed as "ScotRail: Scotland's Railway".[4] The first unit to receive the new livery was 170434, unveiled at Glasgow Queen Street on 22 September 2008.

Network

The ScotRail network is a mixture of long-distance, commuter and rural lines, totalling 1,696 miles (2,729 km), handling 66.1 million passenger journeys in 2003-4.

Main lines

Express trains operate between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Dundee and Aberdeen. The Highland Main Line links Inverness to the south. Some stretches of main line, such as the Highland Main Line, are single track, and express trains must call at intermediate stations to permit trains coming in the opposite direction to pass.

The main lines of Scotland are:

Glasgow

See also: Transport in Glasgow

The densest part of the network is the suburban network around Glasgow, with 183 stations, the second-largest suburban rail network in the UK, after London. Much of it is 25 kV AC electrified. Glasgow’s main terminal stations are Central and Queen Street stations. ScotRail operate trains in this area under the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) brand. However, the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport no longer has any input into specifying rail services in the Glasgow area. DMUs and EMUs that are livered in the carmine and cream livery are being stripped of the Strathclyde logos.[5] Lines in and around Glasgow are:

The North Clyde Line is now linked to the Edinburgh-Bathgate Line (see Edinburgh, below) with the completion of the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link, creating a new direct link between Glasgow and Edinburgh. There is also a proposal to create a new rail link across the city with the Crossrail Glasgow project.

Edinburgh

The Forth Bridge in 2004
See also: Transport in Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s suburban network is less dense than Glasgow’s. Edinburgh’s main station is Waverley. The main railway line through the city centre runs in a cutting immediately below Edinburgh Castle. A secondary station is at Haymarket in the west of the city. Railway lines running north from Edinburgh to Fife and the Highlands cross the Firth of Forth via the Forth Bridge. Lines in and around Edinburgh are:

The Edinburgh rail network is being expanded with the construction of the Waverley Line to the Borders, and the Edinburgh-Bathgate Line has been extended by the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link. A project to open a rail link to Edinburgh Airport was cancelled in September 2007 by the Scottish Government in favour of construction of a station at nearby Gogar which will connect with the Edinburgh tram network to take passengers to the terminal.[7] A proposal to re-open the Edinburgh suburban railway line has been made by campaigning groups.[8]

Rural lines

The West Highland Line at Rannoch station
A Class 170 Turbostar train in First ScotRail livery at Inverness

Rural lines include the scenic West Highland Line, Kyle Line and Far North Line. These lines carry more passengers, mostly tourists, during the summer months, but provide a valuable link and social service during the winter months.

Many rural lines are single track. Trains terminating at the coastal towns of Oban and Mallaig connect with the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services to certain islands including Skye and Mull.

Corrour railway station, an isolated stop on Rannoch Moor on the West Highland Line, featured as a location in the 1996 film Trainspotting.

The rural lines are:

InterCity and Sleeper services

Main article: Caledonian Sleeper

ScotRail operates some services that venture south of the border: principally the Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston along the West Coast Main Line, and a twice-daily cross-country service between Newcastle upon Tyne and Stranraer via Carlisle and Kilmarnock.

Stations

The majority of Scotland’s 340 passenger stations are operated by ScotRail under Network Rail ownership. Glasgow Prestwick Airport station is owned and operated by the airport, Dunbar is operated by East Coast, and Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central by Network Rail itself. ScotRail operates Lockerbie railway station but none of its services call there.

Rolling stock

Current fleet

A Class 156 Sprinter train in the old National Express ScotRail livery at Oban

The diesel fleet comprises a mixture of Class 156 Super Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter units inherited from British Rail, and Class 170 Turbostar sets acquired post-privatisation. Eight Class 158s are subleased from Northern Rail, which are set to be returned in December 2010 when Northern Rail's sublease for three Class 180 units (from National Express East Coast) expires.

The electric fleet includes Class 314, Class 318, Class 320, Class 334 Juniper and Class 380 units.

The Scotland-Euston overnight services comprise ex-InterCity Mark 2 and Mark 3 sleeper coaches, hauled by DB Schenker locomotives. In 2006, ScotRail came to an agreement with DB Schenker to use a small dedicated fleet of Class 90 locomotives between London and Edinburgh/Glasgow. This fleet is painted in ScotRail livery with a small DB Schenker logo beneath the cab.

During 2005, the Edinburgh-North Berwick line services were operated by EWS Class 90 electric locomotives with former Virgin Trains Mark 3 coaches. In late 2005, Class 322 units were reintroduced onto the line. These units were all refurbished and repainted into the First ScotRail livery.

The previous operator of the Scottish franchise (National Express - ScotRail) used Class 101 diesel units and Class 303 electric units, but these had all been withdrawn prior to First ScotRail taking over the franchise.

ScotRail has also operated Class 150 diesel units, but these have transferred to other operators following deliveries of new trains.

Following the new timetable, ScotRail has been running a DB Schenker Class 67 along with their Mk2 carriages on the Fife Circle on the most intense services allowing Class 158s and 170s to work elsewhere.

In July 2008, Transport Scotland have funded the acquisition of 38 Class 380 Siemens Desiro EMUs, to enter service from late 2010. These trains will operate Ayrshire and Inverclyde services, adding extra capacity and allowing the cascade of existing stock to the new Glasgow to Edinburgh services via the reopened Airdrie to Bathgate line.[9] The first two units (380 001 & 380 102) entered service on the 15:30 Glasgow to Ayr service on 9 December 2010, with four units in service by the end of 2010.

Class Image Type Top speed Number Routes operated Built
mph km/h
Class 67 Diesel locomotive 125 200 Hired from English Welsh and Scottish Railway / DB Schenker Rail (UK) Fife Circle Line
Caledonian Sleeper 		1999–2000
Class 90 Electric locomotive 110 177 Hired from EWS / DB Schenker Caledonian Sleeper 1987–1990
Class 156 Super Sprinter Diesel multiple unit 75 120 48 West Highland Line
Glasgow South Western Line
Paisley Canal Line
Whifflet Line
Shotts Line
Croy Line
Edinburgh Crossrail
Maryhill Line
Cumbernauld Line 		1987–1989
Class 158 Express Sprinter File:Scotrail Saltire Livery Class 158.jpg Diesel multiple unit 90 145 46 Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line
Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line
Highland Main Line
Croy Line
Aberdeen to Inverness Line
Kyle of Lochalsh Line
Far North Line
Edinburgh Crossrail
Whifflet Line
Edinburgh to Dunblane Line
Fife Circle Line
Shotts Line
Maryhill Line
Cumbernauld Line 		1989–1992
Class 170 Turbostar Diesel multiple unit 100 161 59 Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line
Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line
Highland Main Line
Fife Circle Line
Edinburgh Crossrail
Edinburgh to Dunblane Line
Croy Line
Maryhill Line
Cumbernauld Line
Tay Coast Line 		1998–2005
Class 314 Electric multiple unit 75 121 16 Cathcart Circle Lines
Inverclyde Line 		1979
Class 318 Electric multiple unit 90 145 21 Argyle Line 1986-1987
Class 320 Electric multiple unit 75 121 22 North Clyde Line
Argyle Line 		1990
Class 334 Juniper Electric multiple unit 90 145 40 North Clyde Line
Argyle Line 		1999–2002
Class 380 Desiro Electric multiple unit 100 160 22 (3-car)
16 (4-car) 		Ayrshire Coast Line
Inverclyde Line
Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs Line
North Berwick Line 		2009-2011
Mark 2 coach Passenger coach 100 160 22 Caledonian Sleeper
Fife Circle Line 		1969–1974
Mark 3 coach Passenger coach 125 200 53 Caledonian Sleeper 1975–1988
Sleeper coach

Past fleet

Class Image Type Top speed Quantity Routes operated Built
mph km/h
Class 322 Electric multiple unit 100 160 5 Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs Line
North Berwick Line 		1990

Performance

Performance figures for National Express’s last quarter as franchise holder, July to September 2004, were:

Period % trains arriving within 5 mins of scheduled time Change
1Jul - Sep 2004 82.8% 2Down 4.2% on the same quarter the previous year
1Jul - Sep 2004 84.2% 1Down 1.0% on the previous year as a whole

Performance figures for First Group’s first quarter as franchise holder, October to December 2004, were:

Period % trains arriving within 5 mins of scheduled time Change
1Oct - Dec 2004 79.8% 2Down 1.9% on the same quarter the previous year
1Oct - Dec 2004 83.7% 1Down 0.5% on the previous year as a whole

First Group started operating the franchise on 17 October 2004.

The performance figures released by the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR) are as follows:

Period % trains arriving within
5 mins of scheduled time
(over three months)		 Change over
same quarter the previous year		 % trains arriving within
5 mins of scheduled time
Moving Annual Average (MAA)		 Change over
previous year as a whole
01Apr - Jun 2007[10] 91.4% 2Up 0.8% 89.0% 2Up 0.2%
02Jul - Sep 2007[11] 93.0% 2Up 2.2% 89.6% 2Up 0.7%
03Oct - Dec 2007[12] 87.3% 2Up 2.8% 90.1% 2Up 0.6%
04Jan - Mar 2008[13] 90.5% 2Up 2.0% 90.6% 2Up 0.6%
05Apr - Jun 2008[14] 93.6% 2Up 2.4% 91.1% 2Up 0.6%
06Jul - Sep 2008[15] 92.8% 2Down 0.2% 91.0% 2Up 0.4%
07Oct - Dec 2008[16] 86.5% 2Down 0.9% 90.9% 2Up 0.3%
08Jan - Mar 2009[17] 89.6% 2Down 1.0%> 90.6% 2Down 0.3%
09Apr - Jun 2009[18] 93.0% 2Down 0.6% 90.5% 2Down 0.1%
10Jul - Sep 2009[19] 93.5% 2Up 0.9% 90.7% 2Up 0.2%
11Oct - Dec 2009[20] 86.7% 2Up 0.2% 90.7% 2Unchanged
12Jan - Mar 2010[21] 89.5% 2Down 0.1% 90.7% 2Unchanged
13Jul - Sep 2010[22] 94.5% 2Up 1.1% 91.4% 2Up 0.8%
14Oct - Dec 2010[23] 78.4% 2Down 9.6% 92.9% 2Up 2.4%
14Jan - Mar 2011[23] 89.1% 2Down 0.0% 90.1% 2Down 0.0%

Note:

  • The percentage change figures are not the actual increases in % but the percentage increase in the % value.
  • These values are very similar to the sector performance level.

Livery

First

When First originally acquired the franchise, a new regional livery of pink, grey and purple and a new logo of a pink circle and an italicised "f" character was introduced. Legislation requiring train doors to be painted in a contrasting colour to the body for visually impaired passengers resulted in white doors with a pink stripe. Like National Express, First applied their logo on units by transfer until repainting. A large number of units were re-branded into this livery, including the Class 322 units re-acquired (and refurbished) for North Berwick service and the Class 90 locomotives used on Caledonian Sleeper services.

Transport Scotland

Transport Scotland has come up with a new livery which will be applied to all of Scotland's trains, when they go into maintenance. Unit 170434 has already been painted into the new livery. The new livery is dark blue background, with grey doors and a white dotted 'Saltire' Scottish flag. A new logo is also applied, ScotRail, with the tag line 'Scotland's Railway'. Stations and staff uniforms are also getting a new look - dark blue. This livery is not going to be replaced when the franchise ends, the only branding showing the operator will be a small " ScotRail is operated by" sign on the station building and on the train doors.[24]

Controversy

In June 2009 a report by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport revealed passenger figures from ScotRail contain 7.2 million more passenger journeys than were actually made.[25] Transport Scotland said this gross overestimate did not affect the decision to extend the franchise. (The franchise having been extended under controversial conditions in 2008.)[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ Railways Act 2005
  2. ^ "FirstGroup Plc ScotRail Franchise Signed". FirstGroup press release. 2004-08-20. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
  3. ^ http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/ScotRail-25th-anniversary
  4. ^ Dalton, Alastair (2008-09-23). "ScotRail marks birthday with Saltire look". The Scotsman. Edinburgh.
  5. ^ Today's Railways Issue 81
  6. ^ a b Airdrie-Bathgate rail link
  7. ^ "It's £30m down the drain". Edinburgh: The Scotsman. Retrieved 2007-10-02. [dead link]
  8. ^ Capital Rail Action Group website
  9. ^ "Scotland orders Desiro fleet". Railway Gazette International. July 11, 2008.
  10. ^ ORR Statistics for Q1 2007/08
  11. ^ ORR Statistics for Q2 2007/08
  12. ^ ORR Statistics for Q3 2007/08
  13. ^ ORR Statistics for Q4 2007/08
  14. ^ Office of Rail Regulation - National Rail Trends, (2008), p. 22
  15. ^ Office of Rail Regulation - National Rail Trends, (2009), p. 5
  16. ^ Office of Rail Regulation - National Rail Trends, (2009), p. 5
  17. ^ Office of Rail Regulation - National Rail Trends, (2009), p. 24
  18. ^ Office of Rail Regulation - National Rail Trends, (2009), p. 5
  19. ^ Office of Rail Regulation - National Rail Trends, (2010), p. 5
  20. ^ "Office of Rail Regulation - National Rail Trends" (PDF). ORR.
  21. ^ "National Rail Trends Chapter 2" (PDF). ORR.
  22. ^ "National Rail Trends Chapter 2" (PDF). ORR.
  23. ^ a b "National Rail Trends Chapter 2" (PDF). ORR. Cite error: The named reference "trends14" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  24. ^ Rail issue 602
  25. ^ "Probe call over passenger figures". BBC News. 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
  26. ^ "Rail contract handling defended". BBC News. 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to First ScotRail.


Preceded by Operator of ScotRail franchise
2004 — present 		Incumbent


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