What's going to happen to the Class 222's after the Class 810's replace them?

[AMD]

Does anyone have any updates as to when (or if) we can expect an announcement regarding the 222's coming to Scotrail?

Soon.... according to a person pretty senior in SR that I spoke to recently, just sorting out a couple of contractual details at the moment.
The full fleet introduction date is now looking like March 2028.

 

[Devon Sunset]

I've heard that the First Minister is.making an announcement at Haymarket Depot on 19th March. I'm not able to provide a source unfortunately.

 

[HighlandStorm]

I've heard that the First Minister is.making an announcement at Haymarket Depot on 19th March. I'm not able to provide a source unfortunately.

Given the thread on declining reliability, moving them to a new depot unfamiliar with them makes me wonder if this will end up being worse than the initial HST introduction.

Another fear is that it allows the decarbonisation of the Inter7city network to be kicked into the long grass, meaning a new ScotRail intercity fleet gets even further away. The HSTs age would have kept the pressure on to keep things progressing on both electrification and new stock

 

[stevieinselby]

Another fear is that it allows the decarbonisation of the Inter7city network to be kicked into the long grass, meaning a new ScotRail intercity fleet gets even further away. The HSTs age would have kept the pressure on to keep things progressing on both electrification and new stock

The 222s will remain in service, burning diesel, until they are life expired. In terms of carbon footprint, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference where they are doing that. If ScotRail skips them and goes for new battery/bi-mode units for their intercity services then the 222s will go somewhere else instead – whether it's the Highland mainline or the Cornish mainline that gets decarbonised doesn't really matter to anyone except the PR people and politicians, in environmental terms it will be the same either way.

 

[Buiadh]

Well that's the worst kept secret in the railway finally confirmed this morning.

https://x.com/i/status/2034522462780543453

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Mar 2026 ==

That driver was probably reading it on here. There’s not that many drivers who are privy to the commercial deals being done with leasing companies!

It's funny, I've a friend who's a trainee driver for ScotRail and he knew this was happening the best part of a year ago within a month of starting with them.

 

[Amos390]

Well that's the worst kept secret in the railway finally confirmed this morning.

https://x.com/i/status/2034522462780543453

Wow 2027 is soon, the units will probably start heading up soon then. Where will they be repainted does anyone know?

 

[Nottingham59]

Wow 2027 is soon, the units will probably start heading up soon then. Where will they be repainted does anyone know?

Perhaps more important, given their declining reliability, is where will they be maintained?

 

[JonathanH]

Perhaps more important, given their declining reliability, is where will they be maintained?

Haymarket would seem the obvious place, alongside stabling at Cadder, Inverness, Aberdeen and Perth

When the fleet enters passenger service, ScotRail will carry out the maintenance on the fleet supported by a comprehensive technical support and spares supply agreement with Alstom – worth around £250million over the next 10 years.

The fleet maintenance hasn't been outsourced.

 

[SamCam]

Perhaps more important, given their declining reliability, is where will they be maintained?

Am I right in saying Polmadie is the only Alstom facility in Scotland? That would be the logical place if Alstom are heavily involved, though capacity is probably an issue.

 

[Stephen42]

Wow 2027 is soon, the units will probably start heading up soon then. Where will they be repainted does anyone know?

No idea on the repaints. In terms of timelines from the Scotrail press release:

With passenger services entering service before the end of 2027, there will be a phased approach to the trains being introduced, with the final train expected to be in operation before the end of 2028.

Six Class 222s will be used specifically for training and they will start to arrive in early 2027 giving staff around nine months to get used to the new way of working, before they go through the refurbishment programme.

The refurbishment and training can happen in parallel on different units reducing the need to get units quickly. Those that are released by EMR can head up or to refurbishment to reduce risk of slip.

Perhaps more important, given their declining reliability, is where will they be maintained?

At EMR they are worked hard with a high availability target, ad hoc covering for 810s and a similar unit requirement every day of the week. None of the Scotrail HSTs do more than 800 miles in a day, some of EMRs 222s do 1200 miles in a day. The Scotrail network has lower speeds on average. Provided a suitable availability target is given, the reliability is unlikely to be anywhere near as much as an issue.

As I didn't see the announcement thread originally, if anyone else is in the same boat it's here:

Alstom just revealed it has the 10 year refurbishment and maintenance contract for 222s for Scotrail (option to extend to March 2042) so move to Scotland now official

Alstom secures long-term train services and refurbishment contracts for £330 million[1] (€380 million) with ScotRail and Beacon in the UK

10-year Technical Support and Spares Supply Agreement (TSSSA) to support Class 222 fleetComprehensive fleet refresh and technology upgrades to enhance passenger experienceSupports ScotRail’s sustain

www.alstom.com

 

[Mag_seven]

As we now know what is happening with the Class 222s we will bring this thread to a close.
See:

222 contract for Scotrail: updates (not speculation)

Alstom just revealed it has the 10 year refurbishment and maintenance contract for 222s for Scotrail (option to extend to March 2042) so move to Scotland now official 19 Mar 2026 Alstom secures long-term train services and refurbishment contracts for £330 million[1] (€380 million) with...

www.railforums.co.uk

and

First Rail Stirling (Lumo) Rolling Stock

The current Apprentice Customer Driver vacancies for First Stirling, operating under Lumo, state that applicants successful will be required to drive 222 units. Is this a stopgap whilst 80X stock are obtained? Further information can be found here...

www.railforums.co.uk