Scotland’s First Minister has announced rail fares will be frozen for the next year ahead of the first vote on his Government’s Budget.
John Swinney visited Edinburgh Waverley Station on Thursday morning to announce the £4.3 million investment – which will fluctuate depending on demand – in the 2026-27 financial year.
Rail fare hikes are usually imposed from April of each year, with last year seeing an increase of 3.8%.
Speaking to the Press Association, the First Minister said: “The Government recognises the challenges that people face in wrestling with the cost of living at the moment, so we’re looking for every step we can take to try to help people.
“We’ve decided to freeze rail fares for next year, so there’ll be no annual increase in rail fares, and what that will do is help commuters to afford their daily travel.
“When you add to that the abolition of peak rail fares, which we undertook in September last year, it’s a huge saving in the cost of travel for individuals and helps people at a time when household incomes are under such pressure.”
The Government hopes the move will make rail travel “a much more credible option” for Scots, he said, adding the policy is “striking the right balance between investment in customers and their costs and investment in the rail network”.
The First Minister refused to say if the policy was announced with one eye on May’s Holyrood election, saying only that he is “always looking at what we can do to reduce the cost of living”.
The announcement comes as the Government’s Budget goes before Holyrood for its first vote.
Scottish Labour has already announced it will abstain in the vote, effectively waving through the tax and spending plans without ministers having to strike a deal to garner the required votes.
But the First Minister said he is still looking to work across Parliament.
“We obviously have got to work with other parties, because the Government doesn’t have a majority – we need to get other people to support us,” he said.
