First ScotRail was a

train operating company A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993. T ...

in Scotland owned by

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.ScotRail (National Express). First ScotRail was succeeded by

Abellio ScotRail Abellio ScotRail, operating services under the name ScotRail, was the national train operating company of Scotland. A subsidiary of Abellio, it operated the ScotRail franchise from 1 April 2015, taking over from predecessor First ScotRail. ...

on 1 April 2015. First ScotRail operated most commuter and long-distance services within Scotland, and some services to northern England, as well as 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 b ...

to London. Of FirstGroup's four train operating companies, ScotRail was the second largest (in terms of number of passenger journeys 2013–14) after

First Great Western Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

operated the ScotRail franchise, as

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 ...

. In July 2003, the Scottish Executive and the

Strategic Rail Authority The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry. Its motto was 'Britain's railway, properly delivered'. I ...

announced

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

had been shortlisted to bid for the new franchise. In June 2004, the franchise was awarded to FirstGroup, with the services operated by ScotRail transferring to First ScotRail on 17 October 2004. On 1 January 2006,

Transport Scotland Transport Scotland ( gd, Còmhdhail Alba) is the national transport agency of Scotland. It was established by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, and began operating on 1 January 2006 as an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. Organisa ...

was created to carry out the Scottish Executive's transport responsibilities including its then newly devolved powers over rail franchising. In April 2008, Transport Scotland granted First ScotRail a three-year franchise extension until November 2014. In September 2008, Transport Scotland announced that all First ScotRail trains, including those previously operated on behalf of the

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is a regional transport partnership for the Strathclyde area of western Scotland. It is responsible for planning and coordinating regional transport, especially the public transport system in the ar ...

, would be repainted in a new blue livery with white

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltatori ...

markings on the carriage ends. The rebranding put less emphasis on the ''First'' and is marketed as ''"ScotRail: Scotland's Railway"''. The first unit to receive the new livery was 170434, unveiled at Glasgow Queen Street on 22 September 2008. On 8 October 2014, First ScotRail confirmed its bid to retain the franchise had been unsuccessful and that the franchise transferred to

on 1 April 2015.Abellio awarded ScotRail franchise
''Railway Gazette International'' 8 October 2014 On the evening of 31 March 2015, the

services were split into a new franchise, operated by

Serco Serco Group plc is a British company with headquarters based in Hook, Hampshire, England. Serco primarily derives income as a contractor for the provision of government services, most prominently in the sectors of health, transport, justice, ...

Network

Main lines

Express trains operated between Edinburgh, Glasgow,

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. Histor ...

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

and

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), a ...

. The Highland Main Line links Inverness to the south. Some stretches of main line, such as the Highland Main Line, are single track, and express trains must call at intermediate stations to permit trains coming in the opposite direction to pass. The main lines of Scotland are: *

Ayrshire Coast Line The Ayrshire Coast Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network in Scotland. It has 26 stations and connects the Ayrshire coast to Glasgow. There are three branches, to , and , all running into the high level at . ...

* Dundee–Aberdeen line *

Edinburgh–Dundee line The Edinburgh–Dundee line is a railway line linking Edinburgh with Dundee via the Forth Bridge and the Tay Bridge. A branch runs to Perth. Passenger services are operated by ScotRail, Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCountry and London North E ...

Fife Circle Line The Fife Circle Line is the local rail service north from Edinburgh. It links towns of south Fife and the coastal towns along the Firth of Forth before heading to Edinburgh. Operationally, the service is not strictly a circle route, but, ra ...

Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line is a main railway route which connects the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, by means of their respective sections of the West Coast Main Line (WCML). Along with the Shotts line, the Falki ...

* Glasgow–Edinburgh via Falkirk line * Glasgow–Dundee line * Glasgow South Western Line * Highland Main Line

Glasgow

The densest part of the network was the suburban network around

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, with 183 stations, the second-largest suburban rail network in the UK, after London. Much of it is electrified. Glasgow’s main

terminal station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing su ...

s are

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and Queen Street stations. ScotRail operated trains in this area under the

(SPT) brand. However, the

no longer has any input into specifying rail services in the Glasgow area. DMUs and EMUs that were liveried in the carmine and cream livery were stripped of the Strathclyde logos. Lines in and around Glasgow were: *

Argyle Line The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. The line serves the commercial and shopping districts of Glasgow's central area, and connects towns from West Dunbartonshire to South Lanarkshire. Named for Glasgow's Argyl ...

Cathcart Circle Lines The Cathcart Circle Lines form a mostly suburban railway route linking Glasgow (Central) to Cathcart via a circular line, with branches to Newton and Neilston, on the south bank of the River Clyde. They are part of the Strathclyde Partners ...

Croy Line The Croy Line is a suburban railway route linking Glasgow Queen Street and Croy in Scotland. It is part of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport network. Following completion of the project to reopen the line to Alloa to passenger s ...

* Cumbernauld Line *

Inverclyde Line The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley (Gilmour Street) and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it connec ...

* Maryhill Line * Motherwell–Cumbernauld line *

North Clyde Line The North Clyde Line (defined by Network Rail as the ''Glasgow North Electric Suburban'' line) is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail Trains. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathga ...

(extended to Cumbernauld & EdinburghAirdrie-Bathgate rail link
) * Paisley Canal line *

Shotts Line The Shotts Line is a suburban railway line linking and via in Scotland. It is one of the four rail links between the two cities. Between Glasgow Central and , the line is shared with the West Coast Main Line (WCML), before branching off tow ...

* Glasgow South Western Line * Whifflet Line (incorporated into the

) The North Clyde Line is now linked to the Edinburgh-Bathgate Line (see Edinburgh, below) with the completion of the Airdrie–Bathgate rail link, creating a new direct link between Glasgow and Edinburgh. There is also a proposal to create a new rail link across the city with the

Crossrail Glasgow Crossrail Glasgow (formerly known as Glasgow Crossrail) is a proposed railway development in Central Scotland to connect the stations Glasgow Central and Queen Street. It has been estimated at a cost of £200 million. Since the 1970s, it has ...

project.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

’s suburban network is less dense than Glasgow’s. Edinburgh’s main station is Waverley. The main railway line through the city centre runs in a cutting immediately below

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

. A secondary station is at in the west of the city. Railway lines running north from Edinburgh to

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

and the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

cross the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

via the

Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

. Lines in and around Edinburgh were: *

Edinburgh–Bathgate line The Edinburgh–Bathgate line is a railway line in East Central Scotland. It is also known as the Bathgate branch and was originally operated by the Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway. Except for the short section at the original Bathgate terminus ...

(incorporated into the

) *

Edinburgh Crossrail 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 ...

Edinburgh–Dunblane line The Edinburgh–Dunblane line is a railway line in East Central Scotland. It links the city of Edinburgh via Falkirk to the city of Stirling and the town of Dunblane. Service provision Connections to other services This line connects into oth ...

North Berwick Line The North Berwick Branch is a short railway branch line built by the North British Railway to connect North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland to the East Coast Main Line (at Drem). It was built as a tactical means of excluding competitors from ...

The Edinburgh rail network is being expanded with the construction of the Waverley Line to the Borders, and the Edinburgh–Bathgate Line has been extended by the Airdrie–Bathgate rail link. A project to open a rail link to Edinburgh Airport was cancelled in September 2007 by the Scottish Government in favour of construction of a station at nearby

Gogar Gogar is a predominantly rural area of Edinburgh, Scotland, located to the west of the city. It is not far from Gogarloch, Edinburgh Park and Maybury. The Fife Circle Line is to the north. Etymology The name of Gogar first appears in a clearl ...

which will connect with the Edinburgh tram network to take passengers to the terminal. A proposal to re-open the Edinburgh suburban railway line has been made by campaigning groups.Capital Rail Action Group website

Rural lines

West Highland Line looking north from Rannoch station 02

Rural lines include the scenic

West Highland Line The West Highland Line ( gd, Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean - "Iron Road to the Isles") is a railway line linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow in Central Scotland. The line was voted the top rail journey in the ...

, Kyle of Lochalsh line and

Far North Line The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. As the name suggests, it is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line is entirely single-trac ...

. These lines carried more passengers, mostly tourists, during the summer months, but provided a valuable link and social service during the winter months. Many rural lines are single track. Trains terminating at the coastal towns of

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, ...

and

Mallaig Mallaig (; gd, Malaig derived from Old Norse , meaning sand dune bay) is a port in Lochaber, on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. The local railway station, Mallaig, is the terminus of the West Highland railway line (Fort Willi ...

connected with the

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne ( gd, Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west ...

ferry services to

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

, Colonsay, Lismore,

Islay Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's capital ...

and the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

and

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whi ...

. The rural lines were: *

Aberdeen–Inverness line The Aberdeen–Inverness line is a railway line in Scotland linking and . It is not electrified. Most of the line is single-track, other than passing places and longer double-track sections between Insch and Kennethmont and Inverurie and Berry ...

* Kyle of Lochalsh line *

InterCity & Sleeper services

First ScotRail operated some services that ventured south of the border: principally the

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...

along the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

, and a three times daily cross-country service between

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

and Glasgow Central via

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

and

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

Performance

Performance figures for National Express’s last quarter as franchise holder, July to September 2004, were: Performance figures for FirstGroup’s first quarter as franchise holder, October to December 2004, were: FirstGroup started operating the franchise on 17 October 2004. The performance figures released by the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR) are as follows: Note: * The percentage change figures are not the actual increases in % but the percentage increase in the % value. * These values are very similar to the sector performance level.

Controversy

In June 2009 a report by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport revealed passenger figures from ScotRail contain 7.2 million more passenger journeys than were actually made. Transport Scotland said this gross overestimate did not affect the decision to extend the franchise (the franchise having been extended under controversial conditions in 2008).

Rolling stock

First ScotRail inherited a fleet of Class 150, Class 156, Class 158, Class 170, Class 314, Class 318, Class 320 and Class 334s from National Express, as well as Mark 2 carriages and Mark 3 sleepers for use on the

. First ScotRail contracted EWS to haul the Caledonian Sleeper services. Class 90s were used south of

and Glasgow Central with Class 67s used on the portions to Fort William,

and

. A dedicated pool has been created due to the need to fit cast steel brakes. Three Class 90s were repainted in First ScotRail livery with EWS logos. First ScotRail took the delivery of the last few Class 170 ''Turbostars'' when it took over the franchise. These released the Class 150s for transfer to

Arriva Trains Wales Arriva Trains Wales (ATW; cy, Trenau Arriva Cymru) was a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operated the Wales & Borders franchise. It ran urban and inter-urban passenger services to all railway stations in Wales, ...

in late 2004 / early 2005. During 2005 the Edinburgh -

services were operated by English Welsh & Scottish Class 90s with former

Virgin Trains Virgin Trains (legal name West Coast Trains Limited) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach, which operated the InterCity West Coast ...

Mark 3 carriages and a Driving Van Trailer. In late 2005, five Class 322s were transferred from

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

to replace these. In 2007, First ScotRail received eight Class 158s from

First Great Western Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Northern Rail Northern Rail, branded as Northern, was an English train operating company owned by Serco-Abellio that operated the Northern Rail franchise from 2004 until 2016. It was the primary passenger train operator in Northern England, and operated th ...

and South West Trains. From December 2008, ScotRail operated a set of

DB Schenker DB Schenker is a division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn that focuses on logistics. The company was acquired by Deutsche Bahn as Schenker-Stinnes in 2002. It comprises divisions for air, land, sea freight, and Contract Logistics. Histo ...

Mark 2 carriages on a peak-hour

service hauled by a Class 67. A second set was operated for a while. In July 2008, Transport Scotland funded the acquisition of 22 three-carriage and 16 four-carriage Class 380 ''Desiros'' with the first entering service in December 2010. These trains operated Ayrshire and Inverclyde services, adding extra capacity and allowed the cascade of existing stock to the new Glasgow to Edinburgh services via the reopened Airdrie to Bathgate line.

Fleet at end of franchise

Past fleet

Former train types operated by First ScotRail include:

Stations

The majority of Scotland's 340 passenger stations were operated by First ScotRail under

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 len ...

ownership. Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central stations were operated by Network Rail itself; Glasgow Prestwick Airport station was owned and operated by the airport; and was operated by the

InterCity East Coast InterCity East Coast is a railway franchise for passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom from London King's Cross to Hull, Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen. It wa ...

franchise holder (originally GNER, then

National Express East Coast National Express East Coast (NXEC) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, owned by National Express, that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, North East England and ...

, then East Coast, and finally Virgin Trains East Coast). ScotRail operated Lockerbie station although none of its services called there.

Depots

First ScotRail's fleet was maintained at Edinburgh Haymarket, Glasgow Shields Road,

Corkerhill Corkerhill is a neighbourhood of Glasgow, Scotland, southwest of the city centre. The area was originally a farm and a few houses built for workers of the Glasgow and South Western Railway at the Corkerhill Depot.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. Histor ...

depots. In early 2005 the rebuilt Glasgow Eastfield reopened.

Demise

In June 2012, the Scottish Government announced that when the ScotRail franchise was re-tendered in 2014, the

services would be transferred to a standalone franchise. In May 2014, it was announced that this new franchise had been awarded to

. In October 2014, it was announced that FirstGroup had been unsuccessful in its bid to retain the ScotRail franchise, and that Abellio would take it over from April 2015. The franchise duly passed to

at midnight on 1 April 2015. The Caledonian Sleeper services transferred to Serco several hours beforehand, during the evening of 31 March 2015.

References

* Scottish Government.
Scottish Transport Statistics No. 24: 2005 Edition
'. Accessed on 2 October 2005. *Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Changes to the regulation of Scotland's railways
'. Accessed on 2 October 2005. *RailBritain.com.
First ScotRail fleet size as of December 2004
'. Accessed on 2 October 2005.

External links

Company websiteScotRail network mapMap of Glasgow & Edinburgh rail network
(National Rail)
ScotRail reports
- the Scotsman , - {{FirstGroup Companies based in Aberdeen Defunct train operating companies FirstGroup railway companies Railway companies established in 2004 Railway companies disestablished in 2015 Railway companies of Scotland 2004 establishments in Scotland 2015 disestablishments in Scotland British companies disestablished in 2015 British companies established in 2004