End for HSTs edges closer as ScotRail seeks new trains

The Scottish government has announced that the procurement process is under way for new rolling stock to replace its InterCity 125 High Speed Trains.

ScotRail uses the HSTs on its Inter7City routes from Edinburgh/Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen and Inverness via Perth, and on the Aberdeen to Inverness route via Elgin.

“The procurement, which will be led by ScotRail on behalf of Transport Scotland, will seek a replacement for the HST fleet which operates on its Inter7City routes,” said the operator.

The HSTs have come in for criticism from the unions, following the Carmont derailment in August 2020 which resulted in the deaths of three people (a passenger and two members of the train crew), while another driver narrowly avoided serious injury when a fallen tree smashed into his HST cab at Broughty Ferry on December 27 2023, during a period of bad weather.

However, the HSTs, which were taken on from Angel Trains after being replaced on the Great Western routes in 2018, have proved popular with passengers. This is due to their better seating and lower internal noise compared with modern diesel multiple units (DMUs), which are considered to be cramped and have a poor seating layout.

Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: “Resilient, reliable ScotRail services are key to encouraging more people to choose to travel by train rather than car, to cutting our transport emissions, and to helping to move people around Scotland for work, leisure and learning.

“That is why we must build on our investment in Scotland’s railway infrastructure by investing in the services and trains which connect our key cities.

“Over four million passenger journeys were made on InterCity trains in the last year. We want to maintain and, where possible, increase that number choosing to go by train between Scotland’s cities.

“We want to replace the current inter-city fleet with trains which provide more comfort and accessibility for passengers on these routes.”

Hyslop concluded: “This planned investment will ensure the reliability of our inter-city routes for the long-term, will reduce emissions from inter-city services, and will support our efforts to decarbonise Scotland’s railways.”

ScotRail said further details will be shared when the contract notice is published “in the coming weeks”.

The timescale of Invitations to Tender, assessment of any bids, placing of orders, construction and acceptance into traffic is likely to be at least three years, by which time ScotRail will be the only franchised train operator still using the HSTs, which first entered traffic in 1976.

Great Western Railway expects to eliminate its last ‘Castle’ Class HSTs early in the New Year, when it takes delivery of Class 175 DMUs.