Abellio ScotRail, operating services under the name ScotRail, was the national train operating company of Scotland. A subsidiary of
Abellio
Abellio (also Abelio and Abelionni) was a god worshiped in the Garonne Valley in Gallia Aquitania (now southwest France), known primarily by a number of inscriptions which were discovered in Comminges, in the Pyrenees. He may have been a god o ...
, it operated the ScotRail franchise from 1 April 2015, taking over from predecessor
First ScotRail
First ScotRail was a train operating company in Scotland owned by FirstGroup which operated the ScotRail franchise from October 2004 until March 2015. Prior to October 2004, trains were run by ScotRail (National Express). First ScotRail was su ...
.
The franchise ended on 31 March 2022 and was replaced by
ScotRail
ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), 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 a ...
Abellio
Abellio (also Abelio and Abelionni) was a god worshiped in the Garonne Valley in Gallia Aquitania (now southwest France), known primarily by a number of inscriptions which were discovered in Comminges, in the Pyrenees. He may have been a god o ...
,
Arriva
Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.FirstGroup, MTR Corporation and National Express had been shortlisted to bid for the new ScotRail franchise. In October 2014, the franchise was awarded to Abellio."Abellio awarded ScotRail franchise" '' Railway Gazette International'' 8 October 2014 The franchise was to operate for seven years with a three-year extension available contingent on performance criteria being met. Abellio began operating the franchise on 1 April 2015 and it opened the
Borders Railway
The Borders Railway connects the city of Edinburgh with Galashiels and Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders. The railway follows most of the alignment of the northern part of the Waverley Route, a former double-track line in southern Scotland ...
on 6 September 2015.
In June 2016, the RMT union announced that train conductors would be going on strike several times during the summer months in protest at more driver only trains. Six 24-hour and three 48-hour strikes were held on ScotRail services during June and July 2016. An agreement was reached in September 2016, bringing an end to the dispute. It was agreed that the new Class 385 trains would have the doors controlled by both the driver and the conductors, the driver opening the doors and the conductors closing them.
On 20 January 2017 the managing director of ScotRail and the ScotRail alliance stepped down from his role after 18 months in the company. Within a few days Alex Hynes was named as the new managing director.
Having failed to meet the performance criteria necessary to gain a three-year extension, the franchise concluded on 31 March 2022 with
ScotRail
ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), 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 a ...
Abellio ScotRail took over all of the services operated by
First ScotRail
First ScotRail was a train operating company in Scotland owned by FirstGroup which operated the ScotRail franchise from October 2004 until March 2015. Prior to October 2004, trains were run by ScotRail (National Express). First ScotRail was su ...
on 1 April 2015, except for the ''
Caledonian Sleeper
''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 ...
'' services, which were transferred to a separate franchise operated by Serco. The franchise agreement required the introduction of 'Great Scottish Scenic Railway' trains on the
West Highland
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...
Kyle
Kyle or Kyles may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada
Ireland
* Kyle, County Laois
* Kyle, County Wexford
Scotland
* Kyle, Ayrshire, area of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern-day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshi ...
,
Borders Railway
The Borders Railway connects the city of Edinburgh with Galashiels and Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders. The railway follows most of the alignment of the northern part of the Waverley Route, a former double-track line in southern Scotland ...
and Glasgow South Western lines. Steam special services were also promoted by Abellio ScotRail.
Due to the delayed delivery of ScotRail's refurbished Inter7City trains, the company was unable to introduce its new Intercity timetable at the same time as the introduction of the Edinburgh - Arbroath and Montrose - Inverurie commuter services. As a result, the stopping pattern of Glasgow/Edinburgh to Aberdeen services is irregular, making calls at many stations at which there is now a frequent stopping service. The improved Glasgow/Edinburgh to Inverness timetable will be introduced along with the Glasgow/Edinburgh to Aberdeen timetable from December 2020.
With the completion of the Inverness - Aberdeen Improvement Plan, an hourly service will operate between the two cities, with half hourly services between Elgin and Inverness/Inverurie and Aberdeen that will serve the two new stations of Dalcross and Kintore. In addition to this, a selection of Inter7City services will operate between Inverness and the Central Belt via Aberdeen, calling at only a couple of stations between Inverness and Aberdeen.
Demise
In December 2019, it was announced by the Scottish government that the franchise would end in 2022 due to poor performance. It was also confirmed that an operator of last resort (OLR) controlled by the Scottish government would take over the franchise in April 2022.
In March 2021, it was announced that the RMT union was to ballot conductors for an indefinite overtime ban following Abellio ScotRail refusing to pay its conductors overtime payments for working rest days, which led to no services on many routes. In April, ticket examiners were balloted for the same dispute, and most trains operated by ScotRail did not run on Sundays as a result. The dispute ended in October 2021, with a deal reached between the union and the operator.
Stations
Abellio ScotRail operated 352 stations in Scotland. Not included were Prestwick International Airport station, owned and operated by the airport, as well as both
Edinburgh Waverley
Edinburgh Waverley railway station (also known simply as Waverley; gd, Waverley Dhùn Èideann) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central station, Glasgow ...
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
. Abellio ScotRail operated Lockerbie even though none of its services called there. It also took over management of
Dunbar
Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ...
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
as well as a newly built EMU stabling depot at Millerhill in Midlothian and a rebuilt depot at
Cadder Yard
Cadder Yard is the railway yard situated between Bishopbriggs and Lenzie on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway (E&G). Cadder is a district of the town of Bishopbriggs.
It was a hump shunting yard built by the North British Railway (NBR) in Octo ...
.
Rolling stock
Abellio ScotRail operated a diverse fleet of DMUs, EMUs and loco-hauled stock. From 10 December 2017, Class 380 EMUs were introduced onto services between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Falkirk High (also serving Croy, Polmont, Linlithgow and Haymarket). This was the first step in creating an entirely electric service between the two cities which was expected to start in October 2018 with Class 385 EMUs, which should have entered service in December 2017, but were subsequently delayed due to a windscreen fault.Facts & Figures Abellio ScotRail"ScotRail franchise facts & figures" ''
Rail
Rail or rails may refer to:
Rail transport
*Rail transport and related matters
* Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway
Arts and media Film
* ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini
* ''Rail'' ...
'' issue 759 15 October 2014 page 8.
Fleet at end of franchise
Abellio ScotRail was intending to introduce a brand new fleet of 46 three-car and 24 four-car Class 385 electric trains from December 2017, to operate services on the lines being electrified as part of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme. However, due to infrastructure problems, and issues with the trains involving software and windscreen issues, their introduction was delayed until September. To cover for the shortfall in rolling stock, Abellio ScotRail hired 10 Class 365 units from
Great Northern Great Northern may refer to:
Transport
* One of a number of railways; see Great Northern Railway (disambiguation).
* Great Northern Railway (U.S.), a defunct American transcontinental railroad and major predecessor of the BNSF Railway.
* Great ...
. These entered service in June 2018.
From October 2018, Abellio ScotRail introduced former Great Western Railway
HSTs HSTS may refer to:
* Homosexual transsexual, controversial term for trans women who are attracted to men or trans men who are attracted to women
* HTTP Strict Transport Security
HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is a policy mechanism that h ...
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
and
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
, branded as "Inter7City" in reference to Scotland's seven main cities.ScotRail HST fleet plans ''Rail'' 1 September 2015 The
Mark 3
Mark 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It relates a conflict over healing on the Sabbath, the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, a conflict with scribes and a meeting of Jesus with h ...
coaches all have refurbished interiors and are fitted with powered doors. There will be 26 sets: 17 five-car and 9 four-car trains. As with the Class 385s there have been delays getting the refurbished trains into service. As a result, some HST sets were pressed into service without refurbishment to allow for others to have refurbishment completed. As of May 2020, ScotRail operates an entirely refurbished HST fleet.
This new rolling stock resulted in ten Class 156, eight Class 158 and 21 Class 170 sets returning to their leasing companies when their leases expired in 2018."Abellio takes over ScotRail" ''
Today's Railways UK
''Today's Railways UK'' is an English-based monthly magazine covering rail transport in Great Britain. It was founded by Platform 5 in January 2002 as ''Entrain'' as a sister publication to '' Today's Railways Europe'', in January 2006 it was r ...
'' issue 162 June 2015 page 12Transport Scotland negotiated to retain an extra 13 Class 170s to support services through Fife to Aberdeen, the Fife Circle Line (replacing the Class 68/Mark 2 sets), and the Borders railway.ScotRail rail revolution declared as 39 carriages to be retained by ScotRail instead of going elsewhere ''Rail.co.uk'' 25 March 2016
Arriva Rail North
Arriva Rail North, branded as Northern by Arriva (legal name Arriva Rail North Limited) was a train operating company in Northern England which began operating the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016 and inherited units from the previous operato ...
received five of the 156s, all the 158s and 16 of the 170s.Abellio ScotRail franchise agreement Transport Scotland Five Class 170s (170416-170420) moved to East Midlands Railway in 2020.New trains accelerate the cascade of UK fleets ''Rail'' issue 893 4 December 2019 page 28
Past fleet
This new rolling stock resulted in ten Class 156, eight Class 158 and 21 Class 170 sets returning to their leasing companies when their leases expired in 2018.Transport Scotland negotiated to retain an extra 13 Class 170s to support services through Fife to Aberdeen, the Fife Circle Line, and the Borders railway.
Arriva Rail North
Arriva Rail North, branded as Northern by Arriva (legal name Arriva Rail North Limited) was a train operating company in Northern England which began operating the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016 and inherited units from the previous operato ...
received five of the 156s, all 8 of the 158s and 16 of the 170s. Five Class 170s (170416-170420) moved to East Midlands Railway in 2020.
Former train types operated by ScotRail include: