Network Rail is investing more than 120 million GBP of Scottish Government funding to increase the power supply of Scotland’s railway network.
Over the next three years, six new feeder stations will be installed across the network and nine sites will be upgraded. This investment will increase the resiliency and reliability of the infrastructure for Scotland’s electrically powered passenger and freight trains.
The new connections to the national grid will increase the overall capability of the 25kV electrified network, enabling it to accommodate future growth with a reduced reliance on diesel trains. The Scottish Government has said it wishes to decarbonise the passenger rail network by 2035.
Scottish Government Transport Minister, Jenny Gilruth said:Increasing power supply into the Scottish railway network is critical to enabling our ambitions to run more cleaner and greener electric trains. Upgrading the power supply network will enable the introduction of electric trains on services to East Kilbride and Barrhead, on the Borders line and across Fife but will also support increased traffic on existing routes such as the East Coast Mainline.
SPL Powerlines has been contracted to carry out the first phase of work. Upgrades to the power supply network are now underway and are expected to be completed by 2026.
Alex Hynes, Managing Director of Scotland’s Railway said:In tandem with the Scottish Government’s ambitions to increase the number of electric trains running on Scotland’s Railway, there comes an increase in the demand for power to operate these services. Investing in the power supply infrastructure will not only make the current electric network more resilient, it also delivers the significant growth in capacity needed as we continue to electrify our railway.
