Rail passengers travelling to and from Tayside could be in line for faster journeys.
Network Rail has launched a new consultation to gauge enthusiasm for introducing electrified rail lines, along with electric trains and associated infrastructure.
The transport body said electric trains would mean more short-haul journeys, more frequent services and capacity to transport more passengers daily.
It is unclear exactly how much faster the journeys would be as that depends on the make of the trains and the type of route.
Among the routes being considered for electrification are the Fife Circle, Dundee to Dunblane via Perth, Dundee to Thornton junctions, Dundee to Aberdeen, Perth to Inverness and Edinburgh to Dundee.
Various Tayside and Fife train platforms could also be extended to accommodate new EIP (express intercity) trains and there are plans to remodel Perth station.
The proposed project is part of a UK programme to roll out electrification of railways, which is expected to take place over the next three decades.
Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce chief executive Alison Henderson said the changes need to come “sooner rather than later”.
She added: “Dundee and the wider Tayside region are very well placed for business and tourism. For these to flourish, good transport links are vital.
“We need faster services and improved timetables. If we’re going to have hundreds of thousands of extra visitors when the V&A opens we would need transport improvements.
“At the moment most local business leaders feel the train services are OK but could be better. Usually there is a lot of transport development in the central belt and this trickles up into Tayside and the north slowly. We need improvements sooner rather than later.”
Work currently being done includes the electrification of the routes from Cumbernauld to Springburn and from Edinburgh to Glasgow.
Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, a new partnership between Network Rail and Abellio ScotRail, said: “The railway in Scotland is carrying record levels of passengers, with the number of people travelling on our network increasing by 85% over the last 20 years to 93 million journeys a year. This resurgence in Scotland’s railway is in part due to the commitment to continuous improvement of the railway shown by successive Scottish governments as well as by the industry itself.”
The closing date for consultation responses to the Scotland Route Study is March 10 next year.