Return of peak ScotRail fares slammed as 'short-sighted, irresponsible folly'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Bringing back eye-watering peak rail fares in June is “an act of short-sighted, irresponsible folly”, trade unions have warned.Commuters have benefited from a pilot scheme, launched in October, which scrapped peak fares on ScotRail services and will run until June 28.But peak-time tickets - roughly double the cost of normal fares - are set to return after this date, hammering commuters in the wallet.Trade unions and campaigners warned it would amount to a rail costs double whammy "tax on workers" - after regular fares were already hiked by an inflation-busting 8.7 per cent by nationalised ScotRail in April, the biggest jump in the UK.If the rise was applied to restored peak fares, based on previous costs, it would mean a peak-time return from Glasgow to Edinburgh rocketing to an estimated £31.40 - up from £16.20 currently.Train drivers’ union Aslef, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) and the Scottish Greens have all urged ministers to permanently scrap peak fares on ScotRail trains.But ahead of a final decision on whether to make the move permanent, transport chiefs have made clear peak fares will shoot up again from July, hitting Scots in the pocket during the summer holidays.In a statement, Transport Scotland claimed extending the pilot by three months to the end of June had helped “to ease the transition to the increased fares”.Asked about rail fares yesterday, new First Minister John Swinney conceded the peak fares removal scheme had been “effective” but warned “everything has to be paid for”.Speaking to the Record, Kevin Lindsay, Scottish organiser for Aslef, hit out: "These weak and tepid remarks from the First Minister and worrying comments from Transport Scotland are not giving much hope to Scotland's rail