Media centre

Tuesday 20 Dec 2016

Minister views progress on new £30m Millerhill facility

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf visited the Millerhill depot recently to see the ongoing work to provide stabling facilities for the new fleet of class 385 electric trains which will be introduced across many Scottish  routes over the next two years.

The stabling yard is being built within the existing depot, which is located between Newcraighall Station and Millerhill Yard Junction, as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).

Mr Yousaf said: “Just a few short days ago, I had the privilege of seeing the first class 385 train arrive in Scotland for testing. It was great to follow this up with a visit to Millerhill to see the construction works for the new stabling facility.

“These are two sure signs of the very real progress being made towards providing electrified trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow and boosting capacity by over 26% on peak services just 12 months from now.

“It was also another opportunity to see at first hand the ways in which our significant investment in rail in Scotland is providing construction jobs now, while also securing future employment for the staff who will be based at this new depot.”

The depot will operate essentially as a cleaning and stabling point for electric and diesel stock used on the Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk, Edinburgh to N Berwick/ Dunbar and Edinburgh to Stirling/Dunblane/Alloa services.

Paul Reilly, Programme manager for Network Rail, added: “This investment will provide a purpose built train depot for ScotRail’s new fleet of 385 electric trains and is another step forward in transforming our railway.”

The facility is expected to open in autumn 2017 and represents an investment of £30m.