RECORD passenger numbers have forced Scotland's main rail operator to bring back old-style locomotives.
The Scotsman can reveal that First ScotRail is seeking rolling stock – which may have to come out of mothballs – to ease overcrowding on the busy Fife-Edinburgh commuter routes, used by three million passengers a year.
The firm has been forced to
advertise for locomotives after being unable to find trains matching those in the rest of its fleet, with engines under the carriages.
Journey times may increase because the locomotive-hauled carriages' doors have to be closed manually rather than being centrally controlled by conductors.
Passenger watchdogs welcomed the extra seats the trains would provide but said it was crucial that punctuality and reliability did not slip. First ScotRail has specified that service reliability was "very important".
Industry sources told The Scotsman orders for new trains across the UK should have been made earlier by the government, which had delayed the process by excessive red tape.
First ScotRail passenger numbers have increased by 20 per cent to 82 million since the company took over four years ago and are forecast to rise to 95 million within six years. UK rail travel reached an historic high last year of 30.1 billion miles. It has only ever been higher during demobilisation after the Second World War.
First ScotRail is hunting for a five or six-carriage train to provide two services a day between Edinburgh and the Fife circle, a loop between Inverkeithing, Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy. The current trains have only three carriages.
The operator said the move was a stop-gap measure before an order of new trains arrived in 2010.
Four years ago, First ScotRail's predecessor hired locomotive-hauled rains for the Edinburgh-North Berwick line, which cost more than the route's entire fare revenue. The trains also added five minutes to journeys because of the manually-operated carriage doors.
First ScotRail said using a locomotive was not expected to cost more than existing trains because it would effectively be hired by the hour, and free for other work, such as hauling freight, for the rest of the day.
Robert Samson, the Scotland link manager for Passenger Focus, the official watchdog, said the trains' performance was critical, and he hoped journey times would not be increased.
A spokesman for First ScotRail said: "Our objective is to provide additional capacity – earlier than expected – to meet growing demand for rail travel."
