Passengers on scenic ScotRail lines stuck with old diesel trains as hydrogen and battery power shelved
Rural routes will be given hand-me-down ScotRail trains from other lines instead
Passengers on some of ScotRail’s most scenic lines will be stuck on diesel trains for longer after plans for hydrogen and battery power on such routes were shelved by ministers.
Tourists and locals on routes such as Fort William to Mallaig, made famous by the Harry Potter films, will instead travel in carriages “cascaded” from suburban lines which are getting new battery-powered trains.
The move, which was unveiled on Friday, comes nearly a year after the Scottish Government conceded that its hugely ambitious plans to phase out ScotRail’s entire diesel fleet by 2035 would be put back a decade to 2045.
Its Transport Scotland agency had been considering new “independently-powered trains”, such as hydrogen or battery, for rural routes in remote areas, which also include Glasgow to Fort William and Oban, and Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh and Thurso/Wick.
This is because it was considered unfeasible to build overhead electric wires to power trains on such lines, as is used on many routes across the Central Belt. The Edinburgh to Fife and Borders routes are being partially electrified so their planned new battery-powered trains can recharge while in service.
But a new Transport Scotland report stated: “As it stands, the potential options for independently-powered trains include battery only or hydrogen-powered trains. However, both are still technically and commercially immature and time is needed to allow the supply chain to scale up before these can be deployed on the network.
“Options will continue to be developed and will be appraised against benefits and costs, capabilities and maturity, to select solutions that meet service requirements effectively and efficiently.”
A previous report in 2020 included a map that showed trains on the routes would be powered by “battery or alternative traction” by 2035.
In the meantime, trains from the Fife and Borders will be moved to the rural network “to replace the life-expiring diesel trains that currently operate on these lines”. The class 156 and 158 trains on the rural network are some 35 years old.
The switch is expected to happen once the new battery trains arrive in 2031.
The report said ScotRail’s rural trains provided both a “lifeline to rural communities” and a “front row seat for passengers to admire Scotland’s natural beauty from our mountainous regions to our dramatic coastlines”.
However, the document signalled that brand-new trains for the lines were no longer in the pipeline. Two years ago, ScotRail had even talked of ordering Swiss-style “scenic trains” with larger windows to enhance views of the landscape.
The report said: “We will continue to work collaboratively with our delivery partners to ensure that we make best use of what we already have and continue to provide an attractive, resilient and modern service for our passengers.”
Hydrogen-powered trains are being introduced in Germany and Italy but have encountered difficulties.
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said the report, Rail Recharged: Scotland’s Fleet Transition Strategy, “acknowledges the challenges we face in the post-Covid landscape and the impact these have had on previous decarbonisation commitments”.
Frank Roach, partnership manager at the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (Hitrans) co-ordinating body, said: “We would urge Transport Scotland to accelerate the process as rural routes may well be operating with class 158s that are over 40 years old before being replaced.
“Older trains lead to declining performance and customer confidence. We look forward to helping with the specification of a new fleet of independently-powered trains for tourists and locals alike."
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