The trains were built to operate services on newly electrified lines in the Central Belt on a mixture of both suburban and inter-urban routes.

Hitachi has proposed developing a battery electric multiple unit (BEMU) variant of the Class 385, allowing such a trainset to traverse lines that aren't electrified at present.

[1] The trainsets, which are formed into a mix of three- and four-car units, were procured for the purpose of operating along the main Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line from December 2017,[5] and across Central Scotland.

[6] In this manner, the electrification programme and purchase of new EMUs to operate services, will allow a subsequent cascade of the diesel multiple units currently used elsewhere on the network.

[2][8] The bulk of the new fleet was constructed at Newton Aycliffe, while the first seven units were instead built at Hitachi's Kasado Works [ja] factory in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi, Japan.

[2] The bodyshells, supplied by Kasado, were shipped to Newton Aycliffe and subjected to around seven days of static fitting out, after which they were moved through the production area via an internal traverser; each vehicle required 2,100 man-hours to complete.

[16] During early 2019, Hitachi held a series of discussions with the Scottish Government on the development of a variant of the Class 385, a battery electric multiple unit (BEMU) that would be capable of running on unelectrified sections of line along a route.

The proposal drew upon Hitachi's existing experience with battery trains operated in Japan, and had been motivated by a recommendation from the rail decarbonisation task force which advocated that such measures be implemented.

[17] In May 2021, the Class 385 fleet was inspected for the presence of a potential safety-related structural weakness that has been identified on the similar IETs, also built by Hitachi.

The University of Liverpool’s Virtual Engineering Centre consulted on the cab's design, while feedback from drivers and train crews was also sought throughout the process.

[1] Each trainset is subject to a balanced examination system, under which such inspections occur every 40 days or 20,000 miles (32,000 km), although considerations towards greater condition-based maintenance have been made.

Early issues with subsystems such as the brakes, door setup and speed control unit have been mostly resolved via software-based measures.