North East Fife MSP Willie Rennie has secured confirmation from the Scottish Government that new battery-electric trains, which are to be procured for services in Fife, will operate in his constituency.

Earlier this month transport secretary Fiona Hyslop announced further electrification of railway lines in Fife and plans to replace diesel trains currently operating Fife Circle services with newly-procured battery-electric trains.

Mr Rennie tabled a written question to confirm that the new trains will be used in services covering North East Fife and was told by the transport secretary: “The battery-electric trains that will be procured for Fife, which will replace the current ScotRail diesel fleet that operates on Fife Circle services, will be deployed on services operating within the North East Fife constituency.”

Mr Rennie said: “People across Fife have long been left with ageing diesel trains which are frequently overcrowded while passengers elsewhere have benefited from more modern, spacious and reliable electric services.

“I wanted to secure confirmation from the Scottish Government that these new trains won’t be confined to services in the rest of Fife. I am glad that people in North East Fife will be able to benefit from the improvements which the newly-procured trains will offer.

“The Scottish Government has listened to calls from across the Scottish Parliament to abolish peak rail fares, but it needs to go further to improve services. They are months behind schedule on producing a full decarbonisation plan after pushing back the target for decarbonised passenger services by a decade to 2045.

“I will continue to argue for a better railway in North East Fife, including a positive decision to re-open a station in Newburgh.”