Scottish Budget: ScotRail peak fares suspension extended for three months

Tickets to remain at up to half price for nine months until June

ScotRail’s peak fares suspension is to be extended for three months to the end of June as part of the Scottish Budget, staff have been told.

The move will see passengers paying off-peak fares all day for a total of nine months, the head of the organisation linking ScotRail with Network Rail Scotland said.

In a message to ScotRail staff on Tuesday, Scotland’s Railway managing director Alex Hynes said: “Since October 2, our off-peak all day fares trial has been in place offering cheaper and simpler fares for customers. The Scottish Government-funded project is a first of its kind in the UK.

The peak fares suspension started in October. (Photo by John Devlin/The Scotsman)

“Today, the Scottish Government announced the 2024-25 budget. This included a commitment to extending the off-peak all day trial by three months to June 28 2024.

“We’re pleased the Scottish Government has backed the trial for a further three months, which means customers will continue to benefit from significant savings across the network for longer and provides us with more data to assess if the trial has succeeded in getting people out of their cars and onto the railway.”

However, Kevin Lindsay, Scotland organiser of train drivers’ union Aslef, called for the suspension to be made permanent.

He said: "This announcement goes nowhere near far enough, and the people of Scotland have been left with the news that they could once again face a tax on travelling to work.

"We all know there is a cost of living crisis and re-introducing peak fares will punish people who have no choice but to travel during those hours.

"Trains are demonstrably the most environmentally friendly way to travel, yet we could soon be saddling passengers with sky-high prices at the very times they're choosing cleaner transport.

"This was a chance for the Scottish Government to get on board with the permanent removal of peak fares and help more Scots choose regular rail travel, instead [Finance Secretary] Shona Robison has barely kicked the hike a little further down the track."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As outlined in the Budget [documents] pack, the peak fares removal pilot will be extended for three months. Further details will be shared in the coming days.”