Rail Travellers to Be Hit By 10-Per Cent Fare Increases First ScotRail Blames New Year Price Hike on Rising Fuel Costs

By GORDON THOMSON

RAIL commuters travelling in and out of Glasgow are to be hit with price hikes in the New Year.

Scotland’s biggest train operator blames soaring fuel costs for the decision to introduce increases of up to 10-per cent.

That’s four times the rate of inflation and First ScotRail are even slapping extra on cheap-day returns when the new fares are implemented from January 2.

However travellers who use trains operated by Strathclyde Passenger Transport will not be immediately affected.

Glasgow-based SPT sets its own prices on its rail services across the west of Scotland.

But First ScotRail operates most of the country’s rail routes – including the Glasgow-Edinburgh service.

It’s one of Scotland’s busiest routes and passengers face an 8.5- per cent hike when the cost of a cheap-day return ticket is increased to GBP8.90p – a rise of 70p. A standard day return ticket will cost GBP16.20p – a rise of 60p.

But rail chiefs claim passengers travelling between both cities have enjoyed cheap travel for the past eight years.

Cheap-day return fares have been deliberately kept low and increases have been pegged to just 11-per cent since 1997 – less than half the inflation rate for the same period.

Another busy route is the Stirling-Glasgow service where passengers will bear the brunt of some of the biggest rises.

Cheap-day returns are to rise by 50p to GBP5.70p – a 9.6-per cent hike – while a standard-day return will cost 30p extra at GBP8.90p.

Watchdogs are especially angry since they claim there’s been no overall improvement in punctuality and reliability since First ScotRail took over the country’s rail services a year ago.

Robert Samson of the Rail Passengers Council said: “We are concerned about the large increases in cheap-day returns on certain routes.

“These increases will not encourage people to travel and overall performance over the last 12 months in terms of punctuality and reliability has remained static.”

But in an attempt to divert criticism, First ScotRail pointed out that passengers who buy Apex tickets – they are bought in advance – won’t be charged a penny extra as Apex and Friends Fare prices are to be frozen.

However Mr Samson added: “Some passengers cannot book in advance and like to make journeys on the spur of the moment.”

A spokesman for First ScotRail said: “A number of factors are behind the changes, some historical and some due to fares anomalies.

“They follow significant increases in fuel and crude oil in particular.”

It was recently claimed that the company’s fuel bills had risen by millions of pounds because fuel costs had soared by almost a third.

gordon. thomson@ eveningtimes. co. uk