ScotRail Reviews 

ScotRail let’s be honest is a total disgrace.

In other countries around the world you get nice clean trains that aren’t expensive and on time but not here. Over priced, unreliable and most of them look like they haven’t been cleaned or hoovered for about 20 years.

Now they have the cheek to start this £10 minimum pricing. Absolute disgrace. Unfortunately if you need to get the train most of the time you don’t have a choice but to use ScotRail.

There customer service is also a shambles be better phoning someone’s granny for advice.

Train was fully packed to the point doors were blocked and all corridors were full of people standing, train ticket man still allowing more people to get on the train absolutely ridiculous. Train was actually so hot to the point the windows steamed up and there was condensation on all surfaces.

Tried to get tickets yesterday, all trains were "full" and I was unable to process payment for any trains or any times . Today all trains are available for double the price.

Absolute disgrace and taking your customers for fools.

Message received, better take the car.

Always quite reliable and withotut too much delay. The onboard staff is always very helpful and friendly. I just with the first class service was a bit more substantial, especially on longer journeys. Before covid their service was much better. Nowadays it's just water and cookies, and if you're very lucky maybe a coffee.

Too bad they are replacing their HST's by class 222 units. Those 222's run quite smoothly, but the seats are horrible. There just isn't enough room between the seat mounting points, so whatever seats they will add after the renovation, it won't give decent legroom ...

It is clear to me that Scot Rail have the worst customer relations department across all of the UK. Not only do they tell lies they fail to reply to letters and emails plus the most concern is that I have written five times with cancelled train tickets and photocopy of these and get told all five letters must of got lost in the post????? The excuses they give you if they answer the phones are comical like for instance we have a new system and its causing issues and that it takes three months to respond to a complaint. Trains I booked were cancelled due to signal issues meaning I could not use the train on the days BUT they find it hard to refund me. I have taken the matter further and urge you to follow the same if you have issues with this department. First contact BBC Watchdog via email to advise, second contact the onmbusman who will be keen to look at. Follow this up with an email to the CEO and all board members and keep resending like I did 120 times that way they may get the message. I have never seen such poor aftercare

Massive disappointment I wish should be section for students to upload I'd card so they will be able to get discount online but you can't you have to go to kiosk but sometimes they close. So time for improvement guys

Travelled from Glasgow to Oban on Friday 3rd April. The hospitality girl Louise and conductor William gave us exceptional service and went above and beyond to make our trip enjoyable.

It took five months to get a refund for a train they cancelled themselves. At the time all passengers had to get off the train and there was no solution for us offered by ScotRail to get to our destination. So we had to take a taxi for the last 40 miles.

hope you never leave property on a train, we had a train booked from glasgow central to London, the station was closed because of a fire nearby, so they put us on a train from glasgow low level to Motherwell , where the london train then started from, i left a bag on the laid on train,to Motherwell, trying to report it is impossible, they say they don't recognise the train , or the station, it is a recorded message to leave details that they don't recognise because its not a normal service , i finally got through to an Indian lady who just kept telling me they don't run that train or go to that station, and could not understand that it was a special train because of the fire. I cant ring motherwell station direct, i wrote to customer services explaining all this, after 2 weeks i had a reply saying they cant chase lost property and gave me the telephone number and address i was complaining about ! I give up my bag is probably on a shelf in a room and I cant get it ! absolute disgrace.

Cancel trains, don't offer advice on when next one will be due, don't tell you any information about what to do, where to go. Trains regularly run late, are not cheap and never we adequate for the service times or requirements - primary tweedbank line.

So unfriendly experience with “John” for a trip from Dundee touring experience at 6:45p. I’d registered and paid for return 50us ticket to Dundee and bus pas.I had a paper ticket as well, showed the email of approved , ticket…and my UK drivers license. He made a scene that this was not enough.

Is this what service is?

We cannot fault the service to provided to our trip to Mallaig. The customer service was brilliant - thank you.

Well Scotfail,

Another Week, Another ScotFail

Not only are you incapable of keeping a reasonable service running while Glasgow Central is out of service, for the Second week in a row you cancel the alternative train service I use to get home. Why, a broken down train again, no surprise, you have shown many time you are completely incapable of maintaining your fleet of trains to any reliable level.

As for the dreadful service you are running while Central Station is out of service. Why are you not running trains up the last station before Central, or an alternative stations such as Cambuslang, then parking/turning the trains in the depot’s at Polmadie etc? Has anyone even thought of this or are you relying on joe public to come up with ideas.

Frankly form the service I have experienced from Scotrail over many years of commuting, I can still only conclude that it is run incompetent fools who should not even be trusted with a Hornby toy train set, never mind a public service funded by tax payers pounds.

If you cannot deliver the service you should be providing, please just hand the tax payers money back so it can be invested in roads and parking. You can then go out of business, and whoever picks up the crumbs can get rid of the dead wood and bring in some professional train managers from Japan etc.

As the saying goes, the one thing you can rely on with ScotFail, is that you cannot rely on ScotFail.

Please try harder, your performance is abominable.

If I could give 0 stars I would. My train failed to turn up. There was no information at the unmanned station. I contacted ScotRail customer Services when at the station. Put through to India. Couldn’t understand a word and eventually gave up. Tried getting a refund for the tickets. Phoned Scot Rail Ref giving RSC0247032. Phoned again 13/3/26 told a refund was authorised and they were sending a link as we spoke. The link and email had the same outcome as the train - NEVER ARRIVED.
My advice do not use Scot Rail.

Pricing is a joke. Apparently they removed peak fares supposedly making it cheaper. It's a scam. It's all peak fares now. Flexi tickets also more expensive as they added more journeys so yes cheaper if you use all the journeys otherwise you loose out. Everyone doesn't need more journeys.

Stirling station smoking problem. It seems that staff at Stirling station turn a blind eye to tobacco smoking and vaping. Everyday I see so called commuters smoking on the station. Corners of the station buildings have used cigarette butts stubbed out on ledges and corners. Why is Scotrail allowing such filth to take place?

We booked a journey and scotrail cancelled our train thay say on there website if your train was cancelled you will get a refund but trying to get this is shocking service thay don’t get in touch when you open a claim you have you are left to chase them up still waiting after nearly a month

Got on the 11.20 train from Bishopton to Glasgow. Ticket collector Scott was brilliant. Watched his interaction with a 2 year old boy and it was really funny and he made the wee boys day. Apart from that he was extremely friendly and helpful. We need more people like Scott 👍👍

Received email to look out for ScotRail £20 return fair anywhere in Scotland Deal.
Email arrived, and clicked on to book two return tickets to Aberdeen from Queen Street station Glasgow.
Everything went through, £40 taken from my bank, and confirmed, received booking reference number from ScotRail, and then screen flashed up transaction failed.
Phone ScotRail and told yes transaction failed, and monies will be refunded within 3/5 work days.
Asked why transaction failed, and told due to train scheduling issues, again asked why scheduling not checked before payment was taken, could not answer, other than saying monies will be refunded within 3/5 working days.
Also asked why no follow up email or text to confirm transaction failed, again no answer, other than you will receive refund within 3/5 working days.
So why should I be out of pocket, until I receive refund, again sorry but that's procedure.
So while talking to him, went onto my ScotRail app, and put in same travel details, and a presto train time still showing, but at £140 for return.
So ScotRail come on, Don't take payment until all details checked.

Cleanliness ❌️

WiFi ❌️- it's absolutely appalling.

Timely 🤏

Staff ✅️ (Mostly/ Kind of/ Many grumpy t#!@s too).

Getting Scotrail anywhere is usually a bloody awful experience. Overbooked, unclean and with a tannoy in train that either blows your head off or can't be heard.

It needs millions spent on it, and as its nationalised that won't happen.

If you can, use LNER. Its a different class of service altogether. Night and Day. Even Cross-country is preferable.