SCOTRAIL “cannot justify” its 3.8 per cent fare rise for passengers, the RMT union said today.

Three years after the rail operator was taken into public ownership by Scotland’s SNP government, research from transport and infrastructure consultancy Steer has estimated that the company’s economic impact was £4.02 billion in 2024, as it supported 11,300 jobs over the year.

ScotRail managing director Joanne Maguire described the report as evidence of a “growing list of achievements.”

Scottish Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “We are rightly proud of the achievements we have made as ScotRail reaches its third anniversary in public ownership and the opportunities it has created to deliver a railway which is run for the benefit of customers.

“Public ownership is allowing us to deliver on our ambition to make Scotland’s railway accessible, affordable, sustainable and to improve the public service which it now provides in connecting our people, businesses and communities.”

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey, however, warned that those ambitions could be thwarted by the company pushing up fares for hard-pressed passengers.

He said: “This fare hike is deeply unfair to passengers and one that ScotRail cannot justify.

“If you are serious about cutting carbon and getting people out of cars, then it does not make sense to make travel more expensive and less accessible.

“The Scottish government needs to back its words with action — freeze fares, protect staff and start investing properly in Scotland’s publicly owned railway.”

Accepting that the rise would be “unwelcome for passengers,” a Transport Scotland spokesperson nonetheless insisted: “We have kept the rise as low as possible to maintain the attractiveness and affordability of rail.

“Our aim is for Scotland’s railway to attract more passengers.

“We need to make decisions that allow service levels to meet passenger demand.”