Edinburgh to Glasgow train journeys to take 42 minutes by 2018

Rail bosses still aim to cut journey times on the flagship Edinburgh to Glasgow service to 42 minutes by the end of next year, despite previous delays and 'issues' with the new electric trains.

The Scottish Government is pushing ahead with place for train journeys between Edinburgh and Glasgow to take just 42 minutes by 2018

Transport minister Humza Yousaf said partners involved in the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) wanted to achieve the target by December 2018.

But he told MSPs that Hitachi, which is producing the new Class 385 trains, was having “some issues” with delivering them, while there had been “well documented” hold-ups in work to electrify the route.

The EGIP project was originally costed at £742 million, with the first electric services expected to come on route in 2016, a deadline that was pushed back until July 2017.

Mr Yousaf said it would now be December before some electric trains are running on the flagship service linking Glasgow Queen Street station and Edinburgh Waverley, with the new trains to be phased in.