Slam-door carriages will be used to ease overcrowding on a busy commuter route, First ScotRail has said (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7407347.stmThe company has appealed for six old carriages to be hauled by a locomotive on the Fife circle line between Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline and Edinburgh.
First ScotRail wants to introduce two extra services a day from May 2009 through to December 2010, running at peak times.
The temporary introduction of hauled trains would fill a gap until the electrification of the Airdrie to Bathgate route. That would free up additional diesel trains to run on the Fife line.
"This is good news for customers as it means more trains and more seats across the Scottish rail network. It's a short-term solution while we wait for our new trains to arrive in 2010.
"Locomotive-hauled diesel trains operate on the East Coast Main Line very successfully. Our priority is our passengers and this is the best solution to meet the growing demand for rail travel."
"There's a real problem that it might just be extending the journey times.
"While people might be quite happy having a seat on the train, I don't think they will be particularly happy that the journey's taking longer, especially when they are trying to commute into work."
Author
Logged