The Scottish Government is facing calls to slash rail fares after a price comparison revealed that flying from Edinburgh to London can be cheaper than taking the train from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Scottish Labour’s research highlighted that a return flight from Edinburgh to London Stansted could be snapped up for as little as £29.98, undercutting the £31.40 cost of a peak-time ScotRail ticket for the inter-city rail journey.
The party also pointed out that in some cases, it’s either the same price or less expensive to catch a one-way flight to destinations like Dublin and Belfast than to purchase a one-way peak train fare from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Peak fares made a comeback on ScotRail services in September following the conclusion of a Government pilot scheme.
With the trial’s end, the price for a peak-time train ticket from Glasgow to Edinburgh – the time when most people commute to work – surged to over £31. However, the cost can be reduced to £20.90 with a railcard, although not everyone qualifies for one.
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop remarked that while the programme, which saved some commuters thousands of pounds, had a “limited increase” in passenger numbers, “it did not achieve its aims of encouraging a significant modal shift from car to rail”. In a move to address the issue, ScotRail, which transitioned to public ownership in 2022, announced a 20% discount on all season tickets for a year starting from September.
ScotRail has announced that the number of journeys offered on its Flexipass tickets will be increased from 10 to 12, and super off-peak fares are set to make a comeback. Labour’s transport spokeswoman Clare Baker highlighted the importance of affordable travel, stating: “This is perhaps a light-hearted comparison but one which reveals a serious truth – it’s costing commuters more than a mini-break to travel between Scotland’s biggest cities.”
She added, “Affordable rail fares are the key to getting people back on to trains and ending the spiral of decline facing ScotRail, while transport infrastructure underpins economic growth.”
Baker emphasised Scottish Labour’s commitment to pushing the SNP Government to address high fares and improve rail service reliability.
In response, a Transport Scotland spokesperson countered: “These figures are misleading as they completely overlook the 20% discounts available on all season tickets and flexipasses, including between Edinburgh and Glasgow. This means regular passengers using a season ticket four times a week will pay just £18.52 and those using flexipasses £21.25 for each return journey.”
The spokesperson underscored the Scottish Government’s dedication to maintaining lower fares for peak-time travellers and encouraging train travel to reduce carbon emissions in Scotland.
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