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Peak fares came to an end on ScotRail yesterday, almost halving the cost of some journeys, and one rail union is calling for a similar move south of the border.

Fares in Scotland are decided by the devolved Scottish Government, which has owned ScotRail since it was renationalised in 2022.

Now white collar union TSSA says railways in England and Wales should follow suit.

Fares in England are decided mainly by the Department for Transport, while the Welsh Government runs renationalised Transport for Wales.

TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: ‘We have long backed the scrapping of peak fares, so this is a victory which makes travel significantly cheaper for many passengers.

‘We must have a railway geared towards the best deal for the public, ending peak fares will also encourage more people out of cars and on to trains – meaning less air pollution, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.  

‘This could have happened much sooner had the SNP not scrapped the original pilot scheme. Of course, what is good for Scotland is good for the rest of the country and we would also encourage the end of peak fares across these islands.’

Readers’ comments

I seem to remember back in the 1960s, Canadian National invented their Red White and Blue fares to replace all other schemes, representing peak, off peak and super-off peak in British terms. That approach encouraged those passengers who could, to distribute themselves according to the rail operator's needs and convenience. The question then arises whether doing away with any such variation will make services more crowded in the peaks, whilst making quiet trains even emptier? It might be that a simple but effective fare structure is only feasible if applying to one particular, clearly identifiable type of operation, so that the intercity fare structure may differ from, say that of a conurbation/commuter system. 

David C. Smith, Bletchley

[British Rail also had colour-coded discounted InterCity fares in the 1980s. Who remembers White Savers and Blue Savers?--Ed.]