ScotRail to Scraps Peak Fares on All Trains
ScotRail will abolish all peak fares across its entire network, cutting ticket costs by almost half on some routes.
End of ScotRail peak fares
Starting from 1st of September 2025, ScotRail will scrap all of its peak fares across its entire network.
These peak fares – higher prices charged during times of high demand, typically the weekday morning and evening rush hours – were in place on some of ScotRail’s most popular routes, including the line between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The Scottish train operator will now scrap these peak fares altogether, allowing commuters and occasional rail travellers to enjoy substantial savings.
ScotRail train. ©AndyBTravels
Cheaper train journeys – for some
According to the Independent, travellers on rush hour trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow will benefit from tickets that are 50% cheaper.
Currently, commuters on this line pay £32.60 for an “anytime” day return, which allows them to travel on peak hour trains.
With the abolition of peak fares, the same journey will cost these travellers just £16.80.
Elsewhere in Scotland, travellers can save between 20 and 40% on their train fares following the scrapping of peak fares, although these more expensive rush hour tickets were not applied on all routes across the ScotRail network.
The Independent noted that some Scottish rail travellers could actually be worse off from 1st of September, as the “super off-peak” tickets – highly restricted but heavily discounted day returns – will also be abolished on that date.
Are peak fares still relevant?
As I previously wrote on my Substack page in an article about the current state of the British rail network, we need a complete review and simplification of fares to make them more transparent.
This should include examining peak and off-peak fares and assessing whether they still make sense.
From my own experience as a frequent traveller on the West Coast Main Line, Avanti West Coast’s peak services during rush hour often feel like “fresh air express” trains, with hardly anyone on board apart from public servants whose expensive rail fares are covered by taxpayers.
Originally, peak fares were introduced to encourage travellers to use less busy off-peak trains, with the added benefit for rail operators of extracting more money from those who have no choice but to travel on peak-hour services.
Although some lines still have peak trains that are clearly more crowded than the off-peak ones, there are just as many in the UK where this is no longer the case, and where off-peak services are actually busier.
With many white-collar workers now enjoying flexible office hours and remote working becoming more common since the pandemic, are peak fares not gradually becoming a thing of the past?
Glasgow Queen Street station. ©AndyBTravels
Conclusion
ScotRail is abolishing peak fares on trains across its network from 1st of September 2025.
This will no doubt be welcomed by commuters on rush-hour services between Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as those on several other rail routes in Scotland.
In my view, the distinction between peak and off-peak trains no longer makes much sense in the post-COVID world, and the potential abolition of peak fares should be considered across the whole of Britain.
