ScotRail (British Rail)

ScotRail

Company type	Brand name
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1983-09-22
Founder	Chris Green
Defunct	1997-03-31
Fate	Franchise handed over to National Express
Headquarters	United Kingdom (Scotland)
Area served	Scotland, including routes to Carlisle and London Euston (Caledonian Sleeper)
Products	Passenger rail services

ScotRail served as the brand name for the British Rail network throughout Scotland, initially introduced on 22 September 1983 under the leadership of manager Chris Green within the British Railways Scottish Region. It represented the last British Rail passenger identity prior to the sector's privatisation, with the franchise being handed over to National Express on 31 March 1997.

Services

All passenger operations confined entirely within Scotland, including routes extending to Carlisle, were overseen by ScotRail. Starting from 5 March 1988, ScotRail also took charge of the Caledonian Sleeper services running to London Euston. However, services operating beyond the Scottish border via the East Coast and West Coast Main Line remained under the management of InterCity.

Infrastructure

Significant electrification efforts during this period encompassed the completion of the Ayrshire Coast Line in September 1986 and the electrification of the North Berwick Line by July 1991, both contributing to improved operational efficiency and increased capacity.

Rolling stock

Throughout ScotRail’s tenure, a substantial portion of Scotland’s locomotive-hauled passenger trains were replaced with contemporary diesel multiple units such as the Class 150, Class 156, and Class 158. Additionally, ScotRail incorporated cascaded Class 305 units alongside newly introduced electric multiple units including the Class 318 and Class 320.

Class	Image	Type	Maximum speed		Quantity	Carriages	Year built
			mph	km/h
Locomotive-hauled stock
37		Diesel locomotive	90	145		N/A	1960–1965
47			75	121	At least 12		1962–1968
86		Electric locomotive	100–110	161–177			1965–1966
87			110	177			1973–1975
Mark 1		Passenger carriage	90–100	145–161		1951–1963
Mark 2			100	161		1963–1975
		DBSO			At least 12		1979
Mark 3		Passenger carriage	125	200			1975–1988

British Rail Class 101||||DMU||70||113||At least 12||2,3 or4||1956–1960 British Rail Class 104||||DMU||70||113||A few|| ||1957–1959 British Rail Class 107||||DMU||70||113||26||3||1960 British Rail Class 116||||DMU||70||113||14||2 or3||1957–1961 British Rail Class150 'Sprinter'||||DMU||75||121||18||2||1986–1987 British Rail Class156 'Super Sprinter'||||DMU||75||121||About49||2||1987–1989 British Rail Class158 'Express Sprinter'||||DMU||90||145||46||2||1989–1992 British Rail Class303||||EMU||75||121||90 units|||3 cars each ||1959–1961 British Rail Class305 || || EMU ||75 ||121 ||19 ||3 or4 ||1959 British Rail Class311 || || EMU ||75 ||121 ||19 ||3 ||1966–1967 British Rail Class314 || || EMU ||70 ||113 ||16 ||3 ||1979 British Rail Class318 || || EMU ||90 ||145 ||21 ||3 ||1985–1986 British Rail Class320 || || EMU ||75 ||121 ||22 ||3 ||1990

Liveries

When ScotRail was established in 1983, it implemented distinct variations of British Rail liveries. Passenger locomotives and carriages displayed a tailored version of the InterCity Executive livery, substituting the red stripe with a saltire blue one and replacing the InterCity branding with ScotRail logos. The majority of locomotives maintained the conventional InterCity Executive design, adorned with ScotRail insignia. Diesel and electric multiple units were painted in the Regional Railways livery, whereas rolling stock operating within the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) region bore the Strathclyde Orange and Black color scheme.

See also

• ScotRail, the train operator responsible for running the ScotRail franchise from 1 April 2022 onward
• ScotRail (brand)

Class	Image	Type	Top speed mph	Top speed km/h	Quantity	Cars	Year built
Diesel multiple units
Electric multiple units