ScotRail is introducing an electric vehicle charging tariff from the 8th of January 2024 across all of its parking facilities in line with other service providers in Scotland.

Currently, ScotRail stations offer free EV charging as part of their bid to reduce carbon emissions by promoting the use of electric cars, which has come at a cost of approximately £700,000 per year.

The tariff will be 43p per kilowatt hour, which is in line with the majority of local authorities in Scotland and falls into the bottom third bracket for tariffs for the ChargePlace Scotland Network.

Introducing the tariff is also expected to discourage non-rail users from blocking charging sites, which has been an ongoing issue for customers. A fixed overstay payment will also be introduced of £12 per 12 hours, which will also support the aim of stopping access being blocked. Rail customers who are affected by a train delay, which causes an overstay, will be entitled to a refund.

The tariff will see no profit made by ScotRail and will support the recovery of costs from the free EV charging scheme for the taxpayer.

Customers with EV vehicles now have 60 ScotRail stations, which feature 80 charging points and offer 168 individual connections. The latest station to benefit from EV charging points is the new East Linton station which opened last Wednesday, the 13th of December and can support the charging of 18 vehicles.

Focusing keenly on decarbonisation, ScotRail has already made excellent inroads with the achievement of a 12% reduction in emissions (CO2e) since 2019/2020.

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.”