First ScotRail

ScotRail^[1] was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Abellio operating the ScotRail franchise.^[2][3]

ScotRail

Rèile na h-Alba  (Scottish Gaelic)
Overview
Franchise(s)	ScotRail October 17 2004 – March 31 2015
Main region(s)	Scotland
Other region(s)	North West England North East England
Fleet size	311
Stations operated	344
Route km operated	3032.0
National Rail abbreviation	SR
Parent company	Abellio
Website	www.scotrail.co.uk at the Wayback Machine (archived 2015-03-16)

History

An old First ScotRail train

National Express operated the ScotRail franchise from March 1997 until October 2004.

On July 28, 2003, Transport Scotland announced Arriva, First and National Express had been chosen to bid for the new franchise.^[4]

On June 11, 2004, Transport Scotland awarded the new franchise to First with the services operated by ScotRail moving to First ScotRail on October 17 2004.^[5][6] It originally traded as First ScotRail before being rebranded as ScotRail in September 2008.^[7]

On October 8 2014, Abellio were awarded the franchise beating First. They started running the trains in April 2015.