{"id":280383,"date":"2025-09-08T17:47:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T07:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=182349"},"modified":"2025-09-08T17:47:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T07:47:53","slug":"new-battery-electric-trains-announced-for-fife-and-borders-railway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=280383","title":{"rendered":"New battery-electric trains announced for Fife and Borders railway"},"content":{"rendered":"

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New, more reliable trains and the electrification of Fife and Borders railways has been announced by Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop.<\/p>\n

The announcement will see \u00a3342 million invested by the Scottish Government, electrifying the lines and procuring 69 new trains, as part of the next stage in modernising Scotland\u2019s Railway.<\/p>\n

Confirming the funding in an answer to a written question in Parliament, Ms Hyslop also visited North Queensferry. This rail journey offered the opportunity to see work already well underway to facilitate electric trains for Fife on the Lothian side of the Forth Bridge.<\/p>\n

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Fife electrification route.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Further electrification work is also underway on the \u00a3116 million Leven route, which was re-opened last year bringing passenger services back to this part of Fife for the first time in over 50 years.<\/p>\n

Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: \u201cI am delighted to confirm that the next phase in Scotland\u2019s programme to decarbonise the railway network will involve the electrification of sections of the Fife and Borders railways. This will support the deployment of battery-electric trains across these key routes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis latest Scottish Government investment, in excess of \u00a3342 million, demonstrates our continuing commitment to making Scotland\u2019s railway even greener, with greater capacity and reliability.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as we are investing in our routes, so too are we committed to modernising our fleets, that is why I can  also confirm that ScotRail has been authorised to initiate a procurement exercise for new battery-electric trains that will operate on the Borders Railway, Fife, and also for the replacement of some of those electric fleets currently operating in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

This \u00a3342 million forms part of the Scottish Government\u2019s sustained investment in Scotland\u2019s rail infrastructure and represents the initial phase of electrification of the Fife Circle services.<\/p>\n

Katie Vollbracht, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail added: \u201cElectrifying the Fife and Borders lines is a significant step forward in our plans for a better and decarbonised railway for Scotland. We are delivering around 140km of electrification in Fife and the Borders, paving the way for the introduction of battery-electric trains on these routes which will provide more capacity and reliability and cleaner, quieter, and more sustainable journeys.<\/p>\n

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Borders electrification route.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cFrom the early planning stages through to construction, our teams have been working hard behind the scenes to deliver this major upgrade that will bring long-term benefits for passengers and communities. We look forward to this next phase as we continue to transform rail travel on these routes for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

ScotRail expects to issue a contract notice for the Suburban Fleets in Autumn 2025.<\/p>\n

ScotRail Chief Operating Officer David Ross commented: \u201cThis is fantastic news for our customers. Electrifying more of Scotland\u2019s railway is a vital step towards delivering a more modern, sustainable network upon which people and communities can rely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis significant Scottish Government investment will allow us to operate greener, more reliable trains, with more seats on board and greater comfort and accessibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, these improvements will make rail travel an even more attractive choice for communities right across Scotland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Image credit: Transport Scotland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>New, more reliable trains and the electrification of Fife and Borders railways has been announced by Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop. The announcement will see \u00a3342 million invested by the Scottish Government, electrifying the lines and procuring 69 new trains, as part of the next stage in modernising Scotland\u2019s Railway. Confirming the funding in an answer [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11323,2305,1633,16017,47,16148,180,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-280383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-electrification","category-environment","category-government","category-industry-news","category-rail-news","category-rail-projects","category-rolling-stock","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=280383"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280419,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280383\/revisions\/280419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=280383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=280383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=280383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}