• 2,700 extra seats each day for Elgin
• More services to the Central Belt
• Hourly service to Inverness  

ScotRail Alliance Managing Director Alex Hynes is set to confirm a number of major improvements for customers in the north of Scotland at a public meeting in Elgin on Monday (30 April).

He will be meeting with local MSP Richard Lochhead and his constituents to discuss rail services in Moray, and the works currently underway along the Aberdeen to Inverness route.

More than £330 million is being invested in the Aberdeen to Inverness Improvement Programme, which will revolutionise travel between Aberdeen and Inverness.

The service customers in the area receive has improved in recent months. The most recent figures show that 92.7 per cent of ScotRail trains on the Inverness to Aberdeen route met their target, having stopped at all scheduled stations. This is up by 15 per cent from the most challenging month last year.

By the end of 2019:

• Services will become faster and more reliable as existing single-track sections of line are upgraded with a second track and new signalling. Fewer trains will have to stop and wait for services going in the opposite direction.
• More than 2,700 extra seats will be added to trains serving Elgin each day, as our InterCity trains will be used on most services between Aberdeen and Inverness.
• An hourly Inverness – Elgin service will be introduced, along with more direct trains to the Central Belt.

ScotRail Alliance Managing Director Alex Hynes said:

“I am looking forward to meeting with Richard Lochhead and his constituents in Elgin, and to setting out the investment we are delivering in the local area.

“Our customers in Moray can look forward to faster and more comfortable journeys on our iconic InterCity trains, as well as a more frequent service to Aberdeen and Inverness, with more direct connections to the Central Belt.

“We are working day and night to deliver these changes for our customers. We are building the best railway Scotland has ever had, and Moray is central to that.”

Richard Lochhead MSP said:

“I’m looking forward to welcoming the Managing Director of the ScotRail Alliance to Moray so that he can hear directly from rail users about their experiences of local services.

“There has been significant investment by the Scottish Government in rail improvements on the Aberdeen to Inverness line, including significant improvements in infrastructure here in Moray, which will bring about many benefits in the long term.

“There is still much more to do however and there are some issues around local services that I know my constituents will want to raise with the Managing Director. I’m grateful to him for joining me for a public meeting to give Moray’s rail users that opportunity.”