PLANS to decarbonise Scotland’s passenger railways have hit the buffers as the Scottish government pushed the target back another decade.

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop has told MSPs that diesel trains had been scheduled to leave ScotRail service by 2035 but are now expected to remain until 2045.

The target had formed a key part of the Scottish government’s greenhouse gas emissions projections earlier this year, and the latest admission is a further blow to an administration still reeling from being forced in April to abandon its plan to slash emissions by 75 per cent by 2030.