ScotRail’s work to build a greener and more sustainable railway has been recognised with a Net Zero Excellence Award.
The prestigious accolade was presented at the Spotlight Rail Awards Scotland 2026 in Glasgow which celebrates excellence and innovation across the rail industry and showcases the projects, organisations, teams, and individuals helping to deliver improvements for customers, communities, and the wider railway.
ScotRail was praised for its wide-ranging approach to sustainability, from reducing carbon emissions and preparing for a new generation of more efficient trains, to improving climate resilience and supporting biodiversity across stations and depots.
ScotRail colleagues Sophie Hughes, HR Advisor and Evie Gardiner, HR Graduate, were also highly commended in the Young Rail Professional category.
The Net Zero Excellence award highlights ScotRail’s work on the journey towards Net Zero, with year-on-year reductions in its environmental impact alongside a range of projects to reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency, encourage sustainable travel, and enhance biodiversity.
This includes the introduction of digital twins, which created virtual replicas of ScotRail’s stations and depots, allowing energy use and carbon emissions to be monitored and opportunities to improve efficiency identified.
Graeme Baillie, ScotRail Safety & Sustainability Director, said: “This award is fantastic recognition for the work being done across ScotRail to make our railway more sustainable and reduce our impact on the environment.
“Rail is already one of the greenest ways to travel, but we know there is much more we can do. From investing in the trains of the future and supporting further electrification, to reducing emissions from our stations and depots, improving climate resilience, and protecting biodiversity, sustainability is at the heart of how we plan for the future.
“Our ambition is to make rail an even more attractive alternative to the car, and this award is testament to the colleagues and partners who are helping us deliver that.”
ScotRail is working alongside Network Rail to support further electrification of Scotland’s Railway, while progressing plans for new electric trains as part of an ambitious programme to replace around two-thirds of its fleet over the next 15 years.
The train operator is also investing in stations as accessible travel hubs, making it easier for customers to walk, wheel, cycle, or combine rail with other modes of public transport, supporting the wider ambition of encouraging more people to leave the car at home and choose rail.
Across stations and depots, biodiversity gardens and other programmes are helping to create habitats and foraging areas for wildlife and pollinators.
Working with The Conservation Volunteers, RSPB, Scottish Wildlife Trust, and ScotRail’s station adopters, more than 1,500 volunteer hours have been dedicated to biodiversity activity since April 2025, while around 850 square metres of wildflower meadow is being maintained across the network.