Transport Minister moves to reassure Scottish passengers after DfT fare and ticket review

“We have put an end to inflation-busting fares rises for ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper services. From 2014, all fares will be capped at 3.1% and off-peak fares will be frozen, compared to the maximum cap of 6.1% in England. We’ve ensured that when the ScotRail franchise is renewed in 2015 that peak fares will not rise above inflation and off peak tickets will be capped to even less.

“We want to enable passengers to find the cheapest fares possible and we have worked closely with ScotRail to address fare anomalies and provide more affordable fares within the current fares structure. In 2013, ScotRail identified and removed 1,500 fares inconsistencies.

“In the next Franchise agreement, we have made clear our focus on the passenger and customer experience by inviting bidders to put forward proposals that provide a high quality passenger experience, that better meets customer needs.

“These measures will help continue the shift from road to rail which has resulted in more than 83 million passengers travelling on ScotRail services in the past year, and to meet that ambition, we have earmarked £5 billion package of investment in better trains, better stations and better services.

“We welcome the findings of the Department of Transport’s review, particularly on improved transparency and measures which allow passengers to access better fares and ticket information about their journeys, such as the expansion of the National Rail Enquiries website.”