ScotRail has revealed that its passengers made 7,866,187 journeys during December 2025, making it the busiest December since Scotland’s Railway returned to public ownership.

This is ten per cent (701,910 journeys) more than the 7,164,277 journeys made in December 2024, and 69 per cent more than the 4,646,072 journeys made in December 2022.

The operator enjoyed a series of record-breaking days for passenger journeys during last month, including a new one-day record on 12 December and the busiest Boxing Day since its return to public ownership, with 97,877 passenger journeys recorded. ScotRail ran more services than usual on Fridays during the festive period and also ran services to and from Aberdeen on Boxing Day for the first time.

ScotRail analyses these figures as reflecting a strong demand for rail travel in the run-up to and during the Christmas period. Its passengers travelled by train for work, shopping, Christmas parties, events, and to visit family and friends.

In anticipation of the increased passenger numbers, ScotRail ran longer trains and additional late-night services on some routes. These ensured that thousands of extra seats were available.

Over a similar period (7 December 2025 to 3 January 2026), ScotRail also recorded its best punctuality and reliability scores since its return to public ownership. 88.5 per cent of trains met their punctuality target, an increase of more than nine percentage points from the 79.2 per cent recorded in 2022/23.

The operator believes that it encouraged more people to travel by train when it permanently removed peak fares across its services on 1 September last year. This move cut the cost of many journeys by almost 50 per cent, including services between Scotland’s two largest cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

“Recording our busiest December under public ownership is a significant milestone and shows how strongly customers continue to choose rail.

“The sustained growth we’ve seen throughout December, including multiple record-breaking days, reflects the hard work of our people right across the network in running longer trains, adding extra services, and supporting customers during a very busy period.

“With peak fares removed for good, rail offers a simple and affordable way to travel, whether it’s for work, leisure, shopping, or visiting friends and family.“We’ll continue our focus on delivering the reliable services, value for money, and customer support people expect throughout 2026 and beyond.”

David Ross, ScotRail Chief Operating Officer