12/04/2026
Be aware - ScotRail will start charging £10 minimum this summer if you board the train without a ticket when you could have purchased one. Tweedbank to Gala could be expensive! 😮
ScotRail is introducing a £10 minimum fare (exceptions apply) for customers who board one of our services without buying a ticket before they travel.
The fare will in many cases be more than the standard fare ticket, particularly for short journeys. As an example, a return ticket for someone travelling from Bishopbriggs to Glasgow Queen Street costs £3 and so the £10 minimum fare would be applied to someone who purposefully didn’t buy their ticket before boarding.
There is no additional charge where the cost of the ticket for the journey is already more than £10, however, there is still a requirement for customers to buy before they board to qualify for any other discounted rail travel.
Exceptions are listed here. ⤵️
• For customers who hold a national entitlement card.
• If a ticket office in a station is closed.
• If a station doesn’t have a ticket office or ticket vending machine (TVM).
• If a customer has a registered disability that prevents them from using TVMs.
• Staff will have the discretion to issue the minimum fare depending on the customer’s circumstances.
• Customers who can only pay with cash would obtain a ‘promise to pay’ ticket from a TVM and then purchase a ticket from on train staff.
The change is designed to encourage customers to purchase in advance and help reduce fare evasion, which costs Scotland’s Railway more than £11 million each year.
Independent analysis shows most ticketless journeys began at stations where ticket offices or vending machines were available.
By supporting buy-before-you-board, the new minimum fare will help create a safer and fairer railway for everyone.
More info > https://www.scotrail.co.uk/about-scotrail/news/scotrail-tackle-ticketless-travel-new-minimum-fare
