FOI/202600515679 · FOI/EIR · partially withheld
Procurement of the Class 222 trains by ScotRail: EIR release
Information requested
1. Please provide a copy of documentation regarding the procurement of the Class 222 trains to replace the life expired Class 43 trains and coaches.
2. This should include details of the procurement strategy adopted, the decision to select Alstom to provide the vehicles, which other suppliers were considered, why other suppliers were rejected, how at the end of September 2025, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights added Alstom to its blacklist of companies conducting business in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, etc
3. This documentation must contain details of the assessment undertaken on Alstom's financial capability to deliver the requirements of the contract bearing in mind the announcement made by Martin Sion (Alstom's new incoming CEO) over the perilous state of Alstom's financial affairs.
Response
The information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
Point 1 of your request
Part one of your request is formulated in too general a manner. You have requested ‘documentation regarding procurement of the Class 222 rolling stock’. Considering the significant volume of work which was required to be delivered for this important investment in order to arrive at the final position, the use of word ‘documentation’ could mean a variety of documents related to the procurement. With this in mind, we would not be able to meet your request for the reasons stated below.
Regulation 10(4)(c) - Formulated in too general a manner
Under the exception at regulation 10(4)(c) of the EIRs, we are refusing your request as it is formulated in too general manner.
As the exception is conditional we have applied the ‘public interest test’. This means we have, in all the circumstances of this case, considered if the public interest in providing information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in identifying the information included in all documentation regarding the procurement of the Class 222 trains, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring the efficient and effective use of public resources.
We however recognise that in the further part of your request you have made a specific request, which we are able to meet under EIRs – please see further parts of this letter. If you require any further information related to ‘documentation regarding the procurement of Class 222 trains’ please make a specific request clearly stating details of the type of documentation you require, which we will be able to consider.
If you need any further advice and assistance to rephrase your request, please contact us. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.
Point 2 of your request
1. the procurement strategy adopted;
The procurement strategy adopted is set out on Public Contracts Scotland, and the procurement was undertaken in accordance with the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulation; this information can be viewed at: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=DEC520468.
These regulations define how procurement competitions are conducted. For this particular competition, bids were invited from manufacturers accordingly.
In addition, our strategy to replace ScotRail rolling stock can be found in our publication: Rail Recharged: Scotland’s Fleet Transition Strategy
b) the decision to select Alstom to provide the vehicles;
Alstom was not awarded the contract to provide vehicles. Beacon Rail was awarded the contract for the provision of vehicles.
ScotRail awarded Alstom a contract for maintenance support of those vehicles.
c) which other suppliers were considered, why other suppliers were rejected,
Beacon Rail and Alstom were the only suppliers who submitted compliant bids for the delivery and maintenance support (respectively) of the trains to replace the existing High Speed Trains.
You have also made a comment in your request: how at the end of September 2025, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights added Alstom to its blacklist of companies conducting business in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, etc
Please note that we have not considered this part of your request as a valid request under EIRs as it constitutes a remark, rather than a request for information.
Point 3 of your request
During the process of awarding a contract, there are established practices, which allow for an assessment of financial fitness. Alstom were subject to a pre-qualification process, conducted by ScotRail as the procuring authority. This pre-qualification process addressed Economic and financial standing, amongst other things, as a condition for participation.
ScotRail Trains Limited was responsible for running the procurement process. As such, ScotRail holds the detailed information relating to the financial assessment and pre-qualification checks undertaken in the process of awarding the contract to Alstom to provide maintenance support for Class 222 trains. You may wish to contact ScotRail Trains Limited directly to request this information - foi@scotrail.co.uk.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Detected exemption language
We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. Regulation 10(4)(c) - Formulated in too general a manner Under the exception at regulation 10(4)(c) of the EIRs, we are refusing your request as it is formulated in too general manner.
Attachments
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