THE first ex-British Rail High Speed Train has arrived in Scotland after major refurbishment.
The eventual fleet of 26 cascaded sets will consist of 17x5-car and 9x4-car formations, and they will be used to provide intercity services within Scotland, connecting a total of seven cities.
The first route to see the 125s in service will be Edinburgh-Aberdeen, although this cannot happen until crew training has been carried out. ScotRail has not announced a start date, saying only that it will be ‘within weeks’.
The first train arrived in Scotland on Friday night (18 August), having travelled from Wabtec in Doncaster. It crossed the border from England just before 20.00, ScotRail said.
The upgrade of the Mk3 trailers has included the installation of single-leaf automatic doors and controlled emission toilets. The original trains, built between 1975 and 1982, were the last intercity rolling stock designed by BR to have slam doors and discharge toilets.
Other improvements include a new ‘café area’ on board.
ScotRail’s High-Speed Trains project manager Chris Tait said: “I’m delighted that the first of our iconic trains has arrived in Scotland. They will transform rail travel in Scotland by providing more seats and a much-improved on-board environment.”