Scotland's government has outlined details of a £650m programme to reduce journey times on the Edinburgh - Falkirk High - Glasgow Queen Street line.
As part of the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP), all trains on the line will see journey times between Scotland's two major cities come down by ten minutes from the current 50 minutes.
Queen Street Station will be upgraded and a new Edinburgh Gateway Station will see services connect to Edinburgh Airport.
The programme will also include electrification of Cumbernauld line services ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and implementation of Wi-Fi in the Edinburgh-Glasgow line by the end of 2013.
The announcement is an upgrade of earlier EGIP plans, which ministers say makes savings of £300m on the original projections to renovate Queen Street.
New modern efficient electric rolling stock that offers a cleaner, greener and quieter railway with lower carbon emissions will be introduced as part of the programme.
Scotland transport Minister Keith Brown said that the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme will take train journeys on Scotland's busiest commuter route into the next generation.
"These enhancements to the service will be a massive boost for both cities and all the communities which surround them, as well as benefitting Scotland's economy as a whole through additional jobs and investment," Brown said.
"While the original EGIP plans were the best possible way of achieving these improvements at the time, the new proposals not only secure faster times between Edinburgh and Glasgow they will increase capacity, revitalise Queen St Station and protect local commuter services into Glasgow."
In June 2012, the government had unveiled plans to invest £5bn between 2014 and 2019 to improve rail infrastructure and services.
Of the total investment, about £3bn will be used for rail infrastructure over the five-year period, while an additional £1bn will be allocated for network enhancements and £1bn to secure the economic and social benefits of the ScotRail and Caledonian sleeper franchised services.
New smart ticketing technology will be introduced as part of the investment across the rail network by the end of the franchise period, in addition to installation of Wi-Fi technology across the network by 2019.
Network Rail, over the next five years, will be responsible for the delivery of the EGIP and the Borders Railway project, the phase I improvements across the Aberdeen to Inverness corridor.
Image: The £650m railway electrification will reduce journey times by ten minutes between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Photo: courtesy of Phil Scott.
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