Transport Scotland has unveiled a new rail decarbonisation plan that instead electrification of the infrastructure will consider rolling stock transition.
The strategy outlines the actions taken to be taken together with industry partners, to replace ScotRail trains that are reaching the end of their useable life. As a key component of Scotland’s transport system, our strategy to replace ScotRail’s fleet is a central part of delivering the strategic vision set by Transport Scotland.
The strategy demonstrates how train fleets will be replaced to achieve this and to sustain the long-term resilience and reliability of our passenger services.
“The fleet transition strategy for Scotland’s railway has been developed in line with the commitment made within the Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan to review the progress that has been made towards decarbonising Scotland’s rail services, whilst acknowledging the challenges and opportunities that the Scottish Government and rail industry has faced since the plan was first published in 2020,” Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Transport said.
According to the strategy, the current InterCity diesel fleet is approaching the end of their life. In December 2024, the procurement to replace these trains began. The replacement fleet will be cleaner and more reliable with improvements in comfort, efficiency and travel experience similar to other high speed train journeys in Great Britain. This action will sustain the connections between seven of Scotland’s major cities and support access to jobs, education leisure and cultural experiences while growing regional economies.
Regarding to the rolling stock operating suburban lines, Scotland has launched the procurement for a single new fleet of electric trains, some of which will have batteries to displace the midlife diesel trains that run on the Fife and Borders routes and replace the electric trains on some parts of the Strathclyde network which are reaching the end of their life.
Benefits are already seen since the introduction of the Class 385 and 380 trains which operate on some of the key routes on our network and have been popular with our passengers.
The National Transport Strategy sets out a 20 year plan to support our priorities to reduce inequalities, take climate action, help to deliver inclusive economic growth and to improve our health and wellbeing. Scotland’s railway directly supports these four priorities.
The rolling stock transition strategy has been published on November 21, 2025, with plans to decarbonise Scotland rail passenger services by 2045 in line with the Climate Change Act.
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