The first of a fleet of new high-speed trains will travel from Aberdeen next week.
Scotrail announced that the inaugural version of its much-lauded Inter7City trains will enter service on Monday, en route to Edinburgh.
The organisation has hailed the development as significant, with the country’s seven cities – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Stirling and Perth – ultimately scheduled to be connected by the upgraded fleet.
Managing director of Scotrail, Alex Hynes, said yesterday: “This is another major milestone in our plan to build the best railway that Scotland has ever had.
“Our Inter7City service will provide more seats, better services, and more comfortable journeys for our customers.”
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The high-speed trains will feature more seats, increased luggage space, power sockets at seats, more toilets and enhanced on-board hospitality.
The 17 five-carriage and nine four-carriage trains trains date back to the 1970s, but they have all been renovated by the company.
Conservative MSP for the North East, Tom Mason, last night criticised delays which have blighted the launch of the revamped fleet.
He said: “It seems clear that neither Scotrail nor the SNP want to admit that these trains should have been here in May.
“There was even a publicity event to launch these carriages in Aberdeen last September, so this has been a long time coming.
“If Scotrail focused on getting the basics right, they might find that travellers would be a lot happier.”
However, transport secretary, Michael Matheson, said he had received assurances that the full fleet will be in service “as quickly and efficiently as possible”.
He aded: “ScotRail and Wabtec, its supplier, have given assurances they remain focused on ensuring the full fleet is in service as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“This means that even more passengers will soon benefit from faster trains.”
