Graeme’s Column

Published in the Angus County Press, 4th September 2025

This month brings a welcome change for rail travellers in Scotland as the Scottish Government scraps peak fares once and for all.

Since Scotland’s railway was taken back into public hands in 2022, the mission has been clear: make trains more reliable, more affordable, and more attractive.

Step by step, that vision is taking shape. ScotRail is now rated the top large operator in Britain for customer satisfaction, and the removal of peak fares will only strengthen that momentum.

As someone who uses the trains regularly, I know the service isn’t flawless. But I also see first-hand that it is becoming a real alternative to the car for more and more people.

The new fares mean sizeable savings – over a third off a return from Carnoustie to Perth, and almost a quarter off from Arbroath to Dundee.

That’s not a rounding error, it’s money people will feel. At a time when costs elsewhere seem only to be rising, this is one price cut families will actually notice.

It’s also a step in the right direction for our climate goals. Cheaper fares mean fewer reasons to take the car, and more reason to choose a cleaner way to travel.

If we want to cut emissions, public transport has to be part of everyday life – and making it affordable is the key that unlocks that.

Of course, cheaper tickets alone won’t cut it. People need services that are frequent, reliable, and convenient.

That’s why I’ve been pressing ScotRail on local issues here in Angus. Take Monifieth: in 2018 it had just eight services a day, now it has thirty-three. That’s real progress.

Yet on Sundays, there’s still nothing. It makes no sense for one of our fastest-growing communities to be cut off every weekend.

Alongside Councillor Lloyd Melville, I’ve been making that case directly, and those conversations are moving in the right direction.

And this is where public ownership really shows its worth. Instead of a faceless operator whose priority is shareholders, we have a railway where local concerns can be raised, argued for, and acted on.

It doesn’t mean every problem vanishes overnight, but it does mean the system is working for passengers – not profit.

Scrapping peak fares proves what’s possible when decisions about Scotland’s railway are made in Scotland.

It’s a bold move that puts money back into people’s pockets, helps tackle climate change, and shows that a publicly-owned railway can deliver for communities like ours.