Charging fees to be introduced across rail network

Customers with electric vehicles will have better access to charging points to support their journeys when ScotRail introduces charges from January 8.

​Fees for charging vehicles at stations car parks will apply from January 8. (Google Maps)

An electric vehicle charging tariff will be applied to all charging points across the ScotRail parking network, bringing the train operator into line with other service providers in Scotland.

The provision of free charging at ScotRail stations helped to promote the use of electric cars while reducing carbon emissions, however, providing it free of charge costs the train operator around £700,000 per year.

The charge of 43 pence per kilowatt hour is similar to most local authorities and is in the bottom third of tariffs on the ChargePlace Scotland Network. It is expected that introducing the charges 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 to 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 ScotRail stations, with 80 points providing 168 individual connections.

The new East Linton station, which opened on Wednesday, 13 December, has provision to charge 18 vehicles.

A fixed overstay payment of £12 per 12 hours will apply, and while this will help to discourage people blocking access to others, customers will also be entitled to a refund if a train delay has been the cause of the overstay.

Full details of the locations and more information are available on the ScotRail website.

David Lister, ScotRail director of safety, engineering and sustainability, said: “We’re 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 is that the charging points are currently being blocked by vehicles overstaying, and the tariff will help to remove that issue. It’s important that ScotRail delivers the best possible value to taxpayers and the charging tariff will ensure that we recover the cost of operating them.”