Peak-time rail fares in Scotland will only rise by the same amount as inflation, transport chiefs confirmed.
Commuters taking the train in England face a 4.1% surge in regulated rail fares from next year, but ScotRail bosses restated that prices north of the border would increase by the same amount as inflation, going up by 3.1% in January.
ScotRail also confirmed that off-peak fares north of the border will be frozen at their current level next year.
Transport minister Keith Brown had announced the pricing plans at the end of last year.
But as the price hikes in rail fares south of the border were announced, a ScotRail spokeswoman said: “We are pleased to have frozen fares for 40% of journeys and limited others to an inflation-only increase.
“This means we continue to provide better value for money for customers in Scotland, especially when fuel and energy costs continue to rise steeply.
“We will also continue to invest. We are committed to making rail journeys more pleasant as well as delivering high levels of punctuality.”
Increases in rail fares are determined by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation. While travellers in England are facing rises of RPI plus 1%, in Scotland rail fares will only increase by the level of RPI in 2014 and 2015, provided this remains below 3.5%.
Off-peak fares will not be raised at all, provided inflation remains below 3.5% for the remainder of the ScotRail franchise, which comes to an end in March 2015.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that Scotland’s railways were “enjoying a renaissance with a level of popularity not seen for nearly a hundred years”.
She added: “We are working hard with ScotRail to do everything possible within the powers we have to slash the cost of fares and make the train an even more attractive alternative to the car.
“The Scottish Government already pays 75p in the £1 for every train ticket used on ScotRail services, but we want to do more.
“We want to continue the shift from road to rail which has resulted in more than 83 million passengers travelling on ScotRail services in the past year, and to meet that ambition have earmarked a £5 billion package of investment in better trains, better stations and better services.”