Skip to content

ScotRail fares set to increase by nearly 4%

PA Media Commuters walk along a train platform next to a dark blue train which reads 'ScotRail' in white writing next to a saltire. A glass roof above the station shows a blue sky.PA Media
Train fares across Scotland will go up by 3.8% in April

Rail fares across Scotland are set to increase by 3.8% in April.

The price rise, instigated by Transport Scotland, will affect all services operated by ScotRail.

It means an anytime return ticket between Glasgow and Edinburgh will rise by £1.20 - from £31.40 to £32.60.

Transport Scotland said Scottish government ministers agreed on the increase after "lengthy consideration" to ensure rail services are sustainable long-term and in line with the budget. Last year, train fares went up by 8.7%.

The transport authority said a 20% discount on season tickets would continue until September and the travel card Flexipass - which offers 12 single journeys for the price of 10 - has been expanded to cover more stations.

These include Exhibition Centre (Glasgow), Anderston, Motherwell, High Street (Glasgow), Charing Cross (Glasgow), Perth, Stirling, and Bathgate.

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "We know that any increase is unwelcome for passengers, therefore we have kept the rise as low as possible to maintain the attractiveness and affordability of rail as a travel option.

"We continue to look at ways to encourage greater rail use and that is why we are continuing our 20% discounts on season tickets until September 2025 as planned and expanding the availability of Flexipass.

"ScotRail also continue to develop fares initiatives which can help attract more passengers, while offering savings and added value to existing rail users."

In October 2023, ScotRail launched a pilot scheme which scrapped peak rail fares to encourage people to use the railway rather than their cars, but it ended in September 2024 following "limited success".

Peak fares cover tickets bought before 09:15 on weekdays and certain services between 16:42 and 18:30.

Transport Scotland said the scheme, which saw ticket prices subsidised by the Scottish government and standardised across the day, "did not achieve its aims" of persuading more people to swap car journeys for rail travel.

Passenger levels increased by a maximum of around 6.8% but the scheme required a 10% rise to be self-financing.

The move to scrap the scheme was criticised by opposition MSPs, with Labour calling peak fares "a tax on workers trying to travel to work in a more sustainable way".