SCOTTISH Labour will axe peak fares on the ScotRail network if it wins power at Holyrood next year, the party announced today.

A £40m year-long pilot scheme scrapping peak fares was ditched last year by SNP transport secretary Fiona Hyslop, who argued it had produced only a “limited increase in the number of passengers.”

The move, branded a “retrograde step” by RMT general secretary Mick Lynch, hiked peak-time return fares between Glasgow and Edinburgh from £16.20 to £31.40 — rising to £32.60 from April.

Now, ahead of this weekend’s crunch Scottish Labour conference as it trails the SNP and fends off a Reform challenge, transport spokeswoman Claire Baker has pledged to scrap the fares permanently.

She said: “We need to end the spiral of decline on ScotRail services and get more people on trains — and that means making rail affordable.

“A Scottish Labour government would end the era of rip-off rail fares and scrap peak-time fares for good.”

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “We welcome Scottish Labour’s commitment to permanently abolish peak fares if they are elected.

“This must be part of a wider strategy to ensure Scotland’s railway is properly staffed, affordable and accessible to all.”