ScotRail (National Express)

ScotRail[1] 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 (British Rail) ran the trains and after October 2004 First ScotRail ran them.

This article is about a previous franchise agreement. For the current railway service in operation in Scotland, see ScotRail.
ScotRail
Class 156 at Oban station in June 2005
Overview
Franchise(s)ScotRail
31 March 1997 – 16 October 2004
Main Region(s)Scotland
Fleet size309
Stations operated336
Parent companyNational Express
Reporting markSR
PredecessorScotRail (British Rail)
SuccessorFirst ScotRail
Technical
Length3,032.0 km (1,884.0 mi)

Services

ScotRail operated all passenger train services in Scotland, with the exception of the Arriva Trains Northern, GNER, Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin Trains West Coast services from England. ScotRail operated services into England with services to Carlisle and Newcastle, and the Caledonian Sleeper services between Scotland and London.

Rolling stock

ScotRail inherited a fleet of Class 101, Class 117 Class 150, Class 156, Class 158, Class 303, Class 305, Class 314, Class 318 and Class 320s from British Rail as well as Mark 2 carriages and Mark 3 sleepers for use on the Caledonian Sleepers and on some other passenger services.

ScotRail contracted English Welsh & Scottish to haul the Caledonian Sleeper services to London Euston. Class 90s were used south of Edinburgh and Glasgow Central with Class 37s used on the portion to Fort William and Class 47s to Aberdeen and Inverness.

Class Image Type Top speed Built
mph km/h
101 Diesel multiple unit 70 112 1956–1960
150 Sprinter 75 120 1984–1987
156 Super Sprinter 1987–1989
158 Express Sprinter 90 145 1989–1992
170 Turbostar 100 160 1999–2004
303 Blue Train Electric multiple unit 75 120 1959–1961
305 1959–1960
314 1979

318 Electric multiple unit 90 145 1986–1987
320 75 120 1990
322 100 160
334 Coradia Juniper 90 145 1999–2002
Mark 2 Carriage Passenger rolling stock 100 160 1969–1974
Mark 3 Carriage 125 200 1975–1988

Depots

ScotRail's fleet was maintained at Haymarket, Glasgow Shields Road and Inverness depots.

Demise

In 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, with the services operated by ScotRail transferring to First ScotRail on 17 October 2004.[3]

References
  1. "Companies House extract company no 2938994". ScotRail Railways Limited. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
  2. "Shortlist of ScotRail bidders puts three in the ring". Herald Scotland. 28 October 2003. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016.
  3. "FirstGroup clinches Scottish rail franchise". The Daily Telegraph. 12 June 2004. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.