ScotRail fares go up by 4.8% after 18-month freeze

The Scottish government previously said the price freeze was no longer sustainable

ScotRail fares have now increased by 4.8% following a freeze since January 2022.

The rise will not apply to season and flexi tickets to ensure the most frequent travellers are not impacted.

Transport Secretary Mairi McAllan said it was "simply no longer sustainable" to keep prices frozen when she announced the change last month.

However opposition parties said it was "bleak news" for travellers amid the current cost of living crisis.

It comes 15 months after ScotRail was taken into public ownership.

• ScotRail fares to increase by 4.8% from July

• Train tickets go up in England and Wales by 5.9%

Ms McAllan previously said the increase was below inflation and recent pay increases.

She compared the increase to the current RPI of 8.7% and the August 2022 RPI rate of 12.3%.

Train tickets in England and Wales went up by 5.9% in March.

Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Graham Simpson said the price hike was "entirely at odds with the SNP-Greens' stated mission to get people out of their cars and on to public transport instead".

Mr Simpson said: "Nicola Sturgeon promised us things would get better when she nationalised ScotRail last year - but the opposite has happened.

"Rail users have endured reduced services, cancellations, industrial action and now rising ticket prices."

'Unwelcome for passengers'

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton insisted the cost of travelling by train should remain frozen "until at least the end of the year".

He similarly described Monday's rise in travel prices as "bleak news for rail users".

He said: "The SNP/Green government's response to the cost of living crisis has been abject and they have just missed the all-important climate targets yet again.

"Control of rail fares is within their hands yet rail users are seeing price increases."

A Transport Scotland spokesperson 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.

"For over a decade the Scottish government has kept fares increases down by ensuring they are in line with RPI, or even lower in the case of off-peak fares.

"This increase is less than inflation and means fares remain, on average, lower than across the rest of Great Britain where the most recent increase was almost 6%."

The spokesperson added that work was ongoing to deliver a ScotRail peak fares removal pilot from October this year.