ScotRail blasted for fare increase

60-second timetable tweak leads to price almost doubling

Under fire ScotRail is facing fresh outcry after a 60second timetable tweak led to a fare nearly doubling.

The rail operator has been widely criticised for disruption, delays and cancellations following the release of its latest timetable.

Now it has been forced to defend a slight, but costly, alteration to the busy Perth to Glasgow service.

The 9.15am train’s departure time has been brought forward by one minute.

And now that it is before the off-peak cut-off, the return price has almost doubled from £17.10 to more than £30.

Local MSP Alexander Stewart hit out at the shake-up. “These are not customer-focused changes, they are ScotRail-focused changes and my constituents are being forced to suffer further undue and undeserved hardship whilst paying good money to ScotRail for its increased fares and woefully inadequate service,” he said.

ScotRail is under fire for a tiny timetable tweak that has nearly doubled the price of a busy inter-city service from Perth.

New changes introduced by the rail operator has brought forward the 9.15am service to Glasgow by one minute. But because the train now departs outwith off-peak times – the cutoff is 9.15am – it costs passengers more than £30 for a return ticket, rather than just over £17.

Customer Ken Ferguson, who regularly uses the service, said he was stunned to be asked to pay nearly double the usual price.

“I was planning to take a trip into Glasgow on Monday to see some friends,” he said. “When I asked for a ticket for the 9.14am service, the guy at the counter actually said: ‘Are you really sure you want to do that?’

“I couldn’t believe it was going to cost me nearly double for almost exactly the same service. I refused to pay. And to make matters worse, the next train to Glasgow had been cancelled.”

Local MSP Murdo Fraser, who last week called on the Scottish Government to put pressure on ScotRail after a weekend of widespread travel disruption, said: “A train leaving at 9.14am cannot reasonably be considered peak-time and I would encourage ScotRail to look at the pricing of this particular route.

“Scotland’s trains are a complete mess and passengers are bearing the brunt of an inconsistent approach to timetabling and customer service.”

Meanwhile, Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Alexander Stewart said: “Many concerned residents of Perth have contacted me to express their anger, disbelief and despair at these new ScotRail timetable changes.

“These are not customer-focused changes, they are ScotRail-focused changes and my constituents are being forced to suffer further undue and undeserved hardship whilst paying good money to ScotRail for its increased fares and woefully inadequate service.”

A ScotRail spokesman said: “The timetable improvements will deliver faster journeys, more seats, and more services for customers. The changes do mean that some services are departing a few minutes earlier or later than they used to.

“We encourage customers to buy tickets in advance of their journey whenever possible to take advantage of the savings on offer. We have made extra advance tickets available for this particular service.”

Commuters across the country took to social media to voice their concerns about the new timetable changes, which they said led to overcrowded carriages and cancelled services.

MSP Murdo Fraser says Scotland’s trains are “a complete mess”.