This is why ScotRail thinks scrapping peak fares will be successful second time round

Commercial director Claire Dickie told The Scotsman that increased numbers of commuters would “commit to rail” by having the confidence that fares being cut by up to almost half was not temporary.

Passengers on many routes will pay the same for their trips regardless what time they travel, with no premium at peak hours in the first move of its kind in the UK.

However, savings will vary, and there will be no change on lines with no peak fares, such as in some rural areas.

While Glasgow-Edinburgh returns at peak hours will be cut by 48 per cent from £32.60 to £16.80, other examples provided by ScotRail showed much smaller reductions, such as Inverurie-Aberdeen down by 20 per cent from £12.70 to £10.10.

Ms Dickie said: “The key thing is this a permanent change and that allows people to make long-term choices about their modes of transport.

“That makes it a really compelling message for people - it’s simpler, it’s cheaper and it’s here to stay.”

She said people needed that certainty when deciding whether to renew a lease on a car or take a job further from home.

“The big change is they have got the confidence to commit to rail.”

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Scottish Government-owned ScotRail has estimated the change will cost some £28 million in the first year, compared to £40m for the trial, which ended in September last year.

It only boosted passenger numbers by 6.8 per cent against the 10 per cent required to make the scheme self-financing.

First Minister John Swinney will help launch a major publicity campaign to coincide with the start of all-day fares on Monday.

That will be in stark contrast to start of the trial, initially for six months, in October 2023, when there was minimal publicity for fear of overcrowded trains. An advertising campaign did not start until three months later.

Ms Dickie said: “We think there is the opportunity to make it more successful than the trial.”

However, she had no worries about overcrowding from an increase in passengers.

She said: “There is no concern on that. We have got a fair idea of exactly what the impact will be.

“There is a framework to monitor our busiest trains and there are things we can do to spread the demand out and help people find the best service for them.”

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Ms Dickie said commuting remained below pre-Covid levels as many people had continued hybrid working following the pandemic.

“But we definitely see this as a great opportunity for us to take another jump back to that.

“A lot of companies are asking their employees to come back a bit more often, which our research shows is slowly increasing, so this should help people coming back.”

Super off-peak tickets will be withdrawn, which accounted for 125,000 journeys in 2024-25, but Ms Dickie said that was just 0.1 per cent of the total and some passengers found they were confusing to use because they were only valid on certain trains.

Minimum fares will remain at peak hours for some railcard holders, such as 16-25 year olds and 26-30 year olds, and Young Scot card holders.

However, Ms Dickie said these were aimed at reducing the price of leisure travel and incentivising such passengers to travel on quieter, off peak services, rather than give them a further discount from the abolition of peak fares.

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coalition manager Becky Kenton-Lake said: “Scrapping peak-time rail fares is a step in the right direction, saving passengers money, encouraging greater use of public transport and lowering climate-warming emissions.

“However, much more must be done to get people out of cars, with incentives and support for healthier and greener alternatives, including community-run transport schemes and provision of safe walking and cycling routes, alongside fair road user charging schemes.”