First ScotRail[1] was a train operating company in Scotland owned by FirstGroup. It operated the ScotRail franchise between October 2004 and March 2015.
On 17 October 2004, First ScotRail took over operations from the incumbent franchisee, National Express. First ScotRail operated most commuter and long-distance services within Scotland, and some services to northern England, as well as the Caledonian Sleeper to London. Of FirstGroup's four train operating companies, ScotRail was the second largest (in terms of number of passenger journeys 2013–14) after First Great Western at the time of the termination of its franchise.
During April 2008, Transport Scotland granted a three-year franchise extension to First ScotRail. In May 2009, First ScotRail announced a crackdown on fare-dodging due to abuse of the Flexipass ticket system. One month later, it was alleged that ScotRail's passenger figures were substantially inflated and that 7.2 million less passenger journeys had been actually made; the matter became politically charged but did not impact the extension decision. In June 2012, the Scottish Government announced that the Caledonian Sleeper services would be split off from the ScotRail franchise. Following its unsuccessful bid to retain the franchise in 2014, First ScotRail transferred operations to Abellio ScotRail on 1 April 2015.
History
First ScotRail logo (2004-2008)
Between March 1997 and October 2004, the public transport conglomerate National Express operated the ScotRail franchise under the ScotRail brand. During July 2003, the Scottish Executive and the Strategic Rail Authority announced Arriva, FirstGroup and National Express had been shortlisted to bid for the new franchise.[2] In June 2004, the franchise was awarded to FirstGroup; the services formerly operated by ScotRail were transferred to First ScotRail on 17 October 2004.[3]
On 1 January 2006, Transport Scotland was established to carry out the Scottish Executive's transport responsibilities including its then newly devolved powers over rail franchising.[4] During April 2008, Transport Scotland granted a three-year franchise extension to First ScotRail, postponing its end-date to November 2014.[5][6]
In May 2009, First ScotRail announced a crackdown on fare-dodging shortly after discovering that one of its most popular saver tickets could be subject to widespread abuse; 150 travellers were caught misusing Flexipass tickets within a single week alone.[7] First ScotRail's approach to dealing with fare-dodgers remained a point of controversy at times.[8]
During June 2009, a report by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport alleged that passenger figures generated by ScotRail had contained 7.2 million more passenger journeys than had been actually made; in response, Holyrood's audit committee called in Auditor General Robert Black to review the extent of the miscalculation.[9] First ScotRail stated that the "long-standing" error was being corrected, while Transport Scotland contended that the overestimate did not impact its decision to extend the ScotRail franchise.[10]
During October 2011, First ScotRail and the British railway infrastructure operator Network Rail announced the enactment of a series of new measures to handle service disruption in the event of severe winter conditions. In addition to improved access to travel information at stations and aboard trains, a new design of warmed plastic tunnels along with the first "power shower" system in the UK were rolled out to help de-ice trains, while it was stated that priority would be given to keeping the most highly-trafficked routes operational.[11] At times of severe weather, ScotRail services had been temporarily suspended on grounds of safety; in such situations, wherever possible, active trains were directed to stop in the nearest convenient station and alternative transportation was provided until services could be resumed.[12]
In June 2012, the Scottish Government announced that when the ScotRail franchise would be re-tendered in 2014, the Caledonian Sleeper services would be split off and transferred to a standalone franchise.[13][14] In May 2014, it was announced that the new Caledonian Sleeper franchise had been awarded to Serco.[15]
In addition to FirstGroup, multiple other transport companies entered bids to operate the ScotRail franchise, including Abellio, Arriva, MTR, and National Express.[16] During early October 2014, it was announced that Abellio's bid had been selected and thus First ScotRail would be discontinued from April 2015.[17][18]
Accordingly, the franchise was transferred to Abellio ScotRail at midnight on 1 April 2015.[19] Several hours beforehand, the Caledonian Sleeper services had been separately transferred to Serco.[20][21]
Express trains operated 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 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’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 were:
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.[24] A proposal to re-open the Edinburgh suburban railway line has been made by campaigning groups.[25]
Rural lines include the scenic West Highland Line, Kyle of Lochalsh line and Far North Line. These lines carried more passengers, mostly tourists, during the summer months, but provided a valuable link and social service during the winter months.
First ScotRail contracted EWS to haul the Caledonian Sleeper services.[40]Class 90s were used south of Edinburgh and Glasgow Central with Class 67s used on the portions to Fort William, Aberdeen and Inverness. A dedicated pool was also created due to the need to fit cast steel brakes. Three Class 90s were repainted in First ScotRail livery with EWS logos.[41][42][43]
During January 2007, public calls were made for the refurbishments of First ScotRail's Class 158 diesel multiple units, particularly in regards to the toilet facilities.[48] One year later, work commenced on the refurbishment of 25 Class 158s, which involved repainting, new seating, extra luggage space, the addition of new customer information systems,[49][50][51] and the fitting of the requested toilet retention tanks.[52]
In September 2008, Transport Scotland announced that all First ScotRail trains, including those previously operated on behalf of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, would be repainted in a new blue livery with white saltire markings on the carriage ends.[53] This rebranding placed less emphasis on the First and was marketed as "ScotRail: Scotland's Railway".[54] The first unit to receive the new livery was 170434, unveiled at Glasgow Queen Street on 22 September 2008.
In July 2008, Transport Scotland funded the acquisition of 22 three-carriage and 16 four-carriage Class 380 Desiros with the first entering service in December 2010. These trains operated Ayrshire and Inverclyde services, adding extra capacity and allowed the cascade of existing stock to the new Glasgow to Edinburgh services via the reopened Airdrie to Bathgate line.[55][56]
Glasgow Queen Street is a passenger railway terminus serving the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the smaller of the city's two mainline railway terminals and is the third busiest station in Scotland behind Central and Edinburgh Waverley.
The North Clyde Line is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathgate rail link and the Edinburgh–Bathgate line, this route has become the fourth rail link between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
A train operating company (TOC) is the term used on the railway system of Great Britain for a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
The transport system in Scotland is generally well-developed. The Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament has control over most elements of transport policy within Scotland, with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition holding portfolio responsibility within the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland is the Executive Agency responsible for the Scottish transport network.
The British Rail Class 334 Coradia Juniper is a suburban electric multiple unit passenger train built by Alstom in Birmingham. They are part of Alstom's Coradia Juniper family of trains, along with Classes 458 and 460.
Caledonian Sleeper is the collective name for overnight sleeper train services between London and Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is one of only two currently operating sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom, the other being the Night Riviera which runs between London and Penzance.
Carluke railway station is a railway station on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) that serves the town of Carluke, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is predominantly served by Argyle Line commuter trains running between Lanark and Glasgow Central. The station lies at the western edge of the town, and enjoys panoramic views of the Clyde Valley and beyond to the hills of Lanarkshire and Ayrshire.
Airdrie railway station is a railway station serving the town of Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is served by trains on the North Clyde Line, 11 miles (18 km) east of Glasgow Queen Street.
Blair Atholl railway station is a railway station serving the town of Blair Atholl, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Highland Main Line, 35 miles 9 chains (56.5 km) from Perth, between Pitlochry and Dalwhinnie. There is a crossover at the north end of the station to allow trains to turn back if the line south to Pitlochry is closed.
The Airdrie–Bathgate rail link is a completed railway project in central Scotland.
The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line is a main railway route which connects the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, by means of their respective sections of the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
ScotRail was a train operating company in Scotland owned by National Express that operated the ScotRail franchise from March 1997 until October 2004. Prior to March 1997 ScotRail ran the trains and after October 2004 First ScotRail ran them.
Serco-Abellio is a joint venture between Serco and Transport UK Group, each owning 50%. The joint venture is the train operating company of the Merseyrail franchise since July 2003 in the Liverpool City Region. It previously operated the Northern Rail franchise in Northern England from December 2004 until March 2016.
The Shotts Line is a suburban railway line in Scotland linking Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley via Shotts. It is one of the four rail links between the two cities.
ScotRail has been the brand name used for all Scottish regional and commuter rail services, including some cross-border services, since September 1983, as well as many of the country's intercity services.
Abellio ScotRail, operating services under the name ScotRail, was the national train operating company of Scotland. A subsidiary of the Netherlands-based transport conglomerate Abellio, it operated the ScotRail franchise between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022.
The British Rail Class 385 AT200 is a type of electric multiple unit built by Hitachi Rail for Abellio ScotRail. A total of 70 units have been built, divided into 46 three-car and 24 four-car sets. Based on the design of the Hitachi A-train, they are part of the Hitachi AT200 product family.
The British Rail Mark 5 is the designation given to locomotive-hauled rail carriages built by Spanish manufacturer CAF for operation with Caledonian Sleeper.
An operator of last resort is a business in the United Kingdom that operates a railway franchise, on behalf of the government, when a train operating company is no longer able to do so. Since May 2023, there are six such operators in England, Wales and Scotland.
ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail, is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise as an operator of last resort since 1 April 2022.
↑ "It's £30m down the drain". The Scotsman. Edinburgh: Johnston Publishing. 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
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