ScotRail is to introduce a new charge in January.

A tariff will be applied to electric vehicle charging points across the ScotRail parking network.

Currently free of charge, the service costs the train operator around £700,000 per year.  

A charge of 43p per kilowatt hour will be introduced, which is similar to most local authorities.

It is expected that introducing the fee will discourage non-rail users from blocking the locations, something that has been a regular complaint from customers. 

The charges are aimed solely at helping ScotRail recover the cost to the taxpayer of operating the charging points, with no profit being made from the tariff.  

There are currently 60 locations with charging points at stations, with 80 points providing 168 individual connections. 

David Lister, ScotRail director of Safety, Engineering, and Sustainability: “We are committed to providing our customers with the best possible journey experience, and improving the availability of electric vehicle charging points is one of the ways we can do that.  

“One of the main complaints we receive is that the charging points at our car parks are currently being blocked by vehicles overstaying, and the tariff from 8 January 2024 will help to remove that issue.  

“It is important that ScotRail delivers the best possible value to taxpayers and the charging tariff will ensure that we recover the cost of operating them, allowing funds to be spent on improving rail services.”