Scotland has fired the starting gun on one of the biggest rail upgrades in a generation, with engineers now on site to begin electrifying the Borders Railway and a massive £450 million framework about to hit the market.
From this week, teams are driving in the first foundations for overhead wires between Edinburgh and Tweedbank, the opening move in a plan that will see electric and battery-electric trains replace every diesel service in Scotland by 2045.
Work Starts Now on the Borders Line
Crews begin preparatory piling on Friday 21 February at two key sections: Newcraighall to Shawfair on the Edinburgh side, and Bowshank Tunnel through to Tweedbank station.
These foundations will carry the steel masts and 25 kV overhead wires that will finally let electric trains run the full 30-mile route.
Three full weekend closures are locked in for March (14-16, 21-23, and 28-30) with buses replacing trains while the work takes place.
Lynsey Maclean, Network Rail’s Scheme Project Manager, said the line was deliberately rebuilt in 2015 with electrification in mind. “That means we don’t have to lower tracks or raise bridges like on older routes. It’s a huge advantage.”
Since reopening, the Borders Railway has carried more than 13 million passengers and triggered hundreds of millions in private investment along the corridor.
£450 Million Framework Signals Serious Intent
Network Rail has just opened market consultation for the new Scotland Railway Electrification Framework, a single-supplier contract running from 2027 to 2032 (possibly 2035) and worth up to £450 million.
This is the vehicle that will deliver standardized, Series One electrification across the central belt and beyond.
The formal tender drops in early March.
One senior industry source told me: “Awarding everything to one contractor is a game-changer. It cuts out years of re-mobilisation and drives the price per kilometre right down.”
New Trains, New Timeline, New Realism
The Scottish Government quietly rewrote its decarbonisation strategy in November 2025.
Gone is the ambitious target of full electrification by 2035 and 130 km a year. In its place is a more pragmatic plan that stretches to 2045 and puts battery and hydrogen trains centre stage on quieter routes.
High-volume lines like Glasgow-Edinburgh, Edinburgh-Fife, and the East Coast Main Line north to Dundee and Aberdeen remain top priorities for wires.
Rural routes such as the Far North Line, West Highland Line, and Kyle line will move to battery or hydrogen power instead of expensive full electrification.
Transport Scotland insists the new approach will still deliver net-zero railways by 2045, but at a fraction of the original projected cost.
What Passengers Will Notice First
ScotRail will start taking delivery of 69 new electric and battery-electric trains from 2027, with the first likely to appear on Fife Circle and Borders services by 2031.
These trains will be:
- Faster to accelerate
- Quieter inside and out
- Zero emissions at the platform
- Cheaper to run and maintain
Mark Ilderton, ScotRail’s Service Delivery Director, said: “Passengers will feel the difference the moment they step on board. Smoother, cleaner, greener journeys are coming.”
The shift to electric traction will also slash Scotland’s rail carbon footprint by an estimated 170,000 tonnes of CO₂ every year once complete.
The quiet revolution on Scotland’s railways has begun. Thirteen million journeys on the Borders line proved people will use good rail when it’s there.
Now the wires are finally going up, and a new generation of trains is on order.
The diesel age on Scotland’s passenger trains is living on borrowed time.
What do you think: is 2045 soon enough to get every diesel off our rails, or should Scotland be moving faster? Drop your thoughts below and use #GreenScotlandRails if you’re posting on X or Instagram.
