There is political commitment[1] to a substantial rolling programme of railway electrification from the Scottish government where transport is devolved.
[10] Electrified power lines began to appear at Glasgow Central station high-level platforms at the start of 1960s under British Railways.
[11] This was followed by the 25 kV AC overhead-power-lines electrification of the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway and the Inverclyde Line to Gourock and Wemyss Bay, completed in 1967.
[11] The WCML electrification scheme from Weaver Junction to Glasgow was discussed in 1968 and a report issued,[12] and was completed in 1974 with squadron service starting on 6 May 1974.
EGIP was an initiative funded by Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government[25] to increase capacity on the main railway line between Edinburgh and Glasgow, with new, longer electric trains running by 2017 and scheduled for full completion in 2019.
[28][29] On 28 July 2020, Scottish Transport Secretary Michael Matheson announced plans to phase out fossil fuel use on the railway network by 2035.
Transport Scotland has also published a list prioritising the projects and divided them into the categories of 1) in delivery, 2) in development, 3) under active consideration.
Resiliency of the power supply is considered key and discontinuous electrification with Battery EMUs being used to achieve intermediate goals.
[37][38] The HLOS- High Level Output Statement for Scotland for CP7 reaffirmed commitment to a rolling programme of electrification and other upgrades.
This will allow the Fife Circle services to be operated by battery electric multiple units whilst minimising capital expenditure on infrastructure, in particular avoiding the major expense of electrifying the Forth Bridge.