Charging fees now in place at train stations
Electric vehicle boost will cost 43p per kilowatt hour
Fees are now in place for passengers charging up electric vehicles at six Lanarkshire railway stations.
ScotRail has introduced a cost of 43p per kilowatt hour for using the facilities at Airdrie, East Kilbride, Lanark, Uddingston, Croy and Cumbernauld, along with a further 44 locations across Scotland.
The train operator says the new non-profit tariff is designed to cover the £700,000 annual cost of electricity used at its vehicle charging points, and is expected to provide “better access” to the facilities for customers.
ScotRail say: “The charges are aimed solely at helping recover the cost to the taxpayer of operating the charging points, with no profit being made.”
An overstay payment of £12 per 12 hours will apply to “discourage people blocking access”, but the train operator advises that “customers will be entitled to a refund if a train delay has been the cause”.
ScotRail sustainability director David Lister said: “We are committed to providing customers with the best possible journey experience, and improving the availability of electric vehicle charging points is one way we can do that.
“One of the main complaints we receive is that the charging points at our car parks are currently being blocked by vehicles overstaying, and the tariff will help to remove that issue.
“It’s important that ScotRail delivers the best possible value to taxpayers and the charging tariff will ensure that we recover the cost of operating them, allowing funds to be spent on improving rail services.”
Both North and South Lanarkshire councils charge 40p per kilowatt hour for use of the area’s network of slow and fast chargers, and 70p for rapid chargers.
South Lanarkshire first introduced the fees in November 2022 with neighbouring North following suit two months later, after calculations showed that the authority’s annual running cost was forecast to reach £852,000 amid rising usage and energy bills.
The number of public charging points across the area was trebled through the £5 million Project Pace, completed in September 2022 and with drivers by that time having travelled 13.7 million miles using 3520 hours of green energy provided.
Visit https://www.scotrail. co.uk/plan-your-journey/ stations-and-facilities/ electric-vehicle-charging to find out more information on the charges.
The tariff will ensure that we recover the cost and allow funds to be spent on improving rail services David Lister, ScotRail