Thousands more rail passengers are buying their tickets before boarding trains following a ScotRail campaign aimed at tackling fare evasion.

The publicly owned train operator says almost 170,000 additional journeys have been purchased before travel since announcing plans to introduce a new minimum fare for customers who board without a ticket when facilities were available.

The new policy will come into force on 1 July and will see passengers charged a £10 minimum fare if they travel without buying a ticket beforehand despite having the opportunity to do so.

ScotRail says the measure is designed to tackle fare evasion, which currently costs Scotland’s railway around £11 million every year.

The operator began an education campaign in April to ensure passengers understood the changes and knew how to purchase tickets before travelling.

Since the start of May, ScotRail says around 168,000 extra journeys have been bought before boarding compared with expected levels.

Analysis carried out by the company suggests at least 13,000 of those journeys may previously have involved passengers avoiding payment altogether.

The campaign has included station announcements, advertising, social media activity, posters and direct support from staff helping customers understand the different ways tickets can be purchased.

Independent analysis commissioned by ScotRail found that in most cases where passengers travelled without a ticket, facilities to buy one were available.

According to the figures, 74 per cent of ticketless journeys started at stations where ticket offices were open, while 90 per cent involved stations equipped with working ticket vending machines.

ScotRail says the changes are also expected to help reduce anti social behaviour, which can often be linked to a small number of passengers travelling without valid tickets.

There are a number of exemptions to the new minimum fare policy.

Passengers will not be charged the minimum fare where ticket offices are closed, where stations have no ticket machines or where disabilities prevent customers from using available facilities.

Since returning to public ownership in 2022, ScotRail has increased revenue protection measures across its network.

Ticketless travel has fallen from 8.8 per cent in April 2022 to 2.98 per cent today, while dedicated revenue protection teams recover around £2 million each year that would otherwise be lost.

ScotRail Customer Operations Director Phil Campbell said:

“We are delighted that our education campaign to remind everyone of the importance of buying before boarding is proving to be successful.

“It’s about making sure customers understand the different ways they can purchase a ticket before they start their journey.

“Fare evasion costs Scotland’s Railway millions of pounds every year, and that is money which could otherwise be reinvested in improving services for customers.

“The introduction of a minimum fare from 1 July will help ensure fairness for the vast majority of honest, fare-paying customers, who do the right thing and buy their ticket before they travel, while supporting our frontline teams in tackling deliberate ticketless travel.”