More than £3m in compensation paid to delayed passengers since ScotRail nationalisation

ScotRail has paid more than £3m in compensation payments to passengers since the franchise was brought back under public control in 2022.

The figures obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats reflect pay-outs that were made after services were either cancelled or severely delayed and cover the period between April 2022 to the end of October 2025.

The figures show that during this period £3,089,106.54 was paid to passengers for late trains. There have been 262,747 claims in that time, with 178,446 of those being approved and paid out – with average compensation of £17.32.

Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Jamie Greene MSP said: “This is an eye-watering, multi-million-pound bill for delayed trains. The SNP have been directly responsible for the trains for three and a half years, but these figures point to a serious level of disruption that will be frustrating for commuters, holidaymakers and taxpayers.

“Since this figure only covers those who have applied for a refund, there may be many more people who have been similarly inconvenienced but who simply haven’t claimed.

ScotRail said disruptions to services and cancellations were often caused by issues out with its control including adverse weather conditions or train crew shortages.

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail Service Delivery Director, said: “ScotRail operates more than 2,200 services across the country every day, with around nine out of ten of those services meeting the punctuality target, getting customers to where they need to be.

“Disruption can be for a number of reasons, many of them outside the control of ScotRail, and we know how frustrating it is when delays or cancellations occur.

“When it does happen, it is only right that compensation is paid to customers who experience disruption to their journey.

A spokesperson for Fiona Hyslop said: “ScotRail performs consistently better than most other GB operators. In the year to September 2025, ScotRail cancelled just 2.1% of its trains – around half as many cancellations as the GB average of 3.9%.

“ScotRail’s overall performance has been around 90% for the three consecutive years of ScotRail in public ownership. This is consistently higher than many GB operators, including the regional operations which are the most comparable.

“ScotRail makes every effort to get disrupted passengers to their destinations, whether due to planned improvement works by Network Rail, severe weather, or unforeseen events.”