Railways of Central Scotland 2006-15

The Last 15 years have seen a huge amount of change in the rail network within Scotland, including the replacement of old rolling stock with new trains, an explosion of colourful liveries, the re-opening of routes, the demise of coal trains and the boom of container freight traffic. Looking at passenger operations, new routes have opened during the period, including those to Larkhall and Alloa along with the Airdrie to Bathgate extension and the Borders route to Tweedbank. Furthermore, electrification has changed a number of the lines beyond recognition. Of course, these changes have brought about a shift in traction with new electric units ousting the diesels. Likewise, the introduction of HSTs on services between the Scottish cities has brought much interest back to the passenger scene. In contrast, the freight market has unfortunately been in decline for some time. However, container traffic has continued to increase and new freight operating companies have appeared.