HANDS OFF OUR CHEAP RAIL FARES

First Minister told return of peak ScotRail prices would be a folly

- DAN VEVERS

BRINGING back eye-watering peak rail fares next month will be "an act of short-sighted, irresponsible folly", trade unions have warned.

A pilot scheme launched in October, which scrapped peak fares on ScotRail services, will end on June 28.

Peak-time tickets - roughly double the cost of normal fares - are then set to return, hammering commuters in the wallet.

Trade unions and campaigners warned it would be a costly double whammy for Scots after regular fares were hiked by 8.7 per cent in April - the biggest jump in the UK.