ScotRail - New app / website booking engine from 30 July 2026

[GLC]

having had a look at SilverRail's website, their case studies include EMR's 'smart kiosks' - which appears to be the ones that print eTickets on plain paper.

Which is also the TVM which Scotrail trialled at Glasgow Central for a year(?) (now removed though)

 

[Aaron_TTL]

Update on this, put a refund request in the same day as the incident, told id get it within 5 working days - still nothing

They say there’s overwhelming demand for refunds right now so I’ve to be patient

Must be that app barely anyone is having issues with

Finally got the refund today, only a month later. Meanwhile I see the app has totally crashed this morning for everyone.

 

[superkopite]

Finally got the refund today, only a month later. Meanwhile I see the app has totally crashed this morning for everyone.

I saw the backlash on X this morning.

I understand that their customer service teams have had a rough time since the app went live, but some of the responses beggar belief

 

[kkong]

Glorious. This is a noble crusade, do keep us all informed please!

I have received a reply from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport.

It didn't answer, any of the four questions I asked (reproduced below), but that's what we've come to expect when asking politicians questions which would result in an uncomfortable situation if they were answered in good faith.

1. Why the app was launched when it hadn't been tested and was clearly not ready for public use.
2. Why ScotRail are not being honest with rail customers in Scotland about the problems with the app.
3. When the new app will provide at least the same functionality as was present in the old one.
4. ScotRail's assessment of the likely reputational damage and lost revenue caused by this botched app launch.

We now know the answer to question 1 from the contract award notice: there were only two months between contract award and the latest possible go-live date of 31 July 2026 (when Trainline pulled the plug).

The substantive paragraphs are reproduced below. The highlights are mine.

ScotRail launched its new app and website booking engine on 30 July 2026 as part of a wider programme intended to improve customers' experience of planning journeys, purchasing tickets and managing their travel. The new platform forms part of an investment programme that will introduce new customer-facing features, and is expected to consolidate various legacy systems while supporting ScotRail’s future multimodal and integrated ticketing ambitions.

The app was tested before launch but as your constituent has noted, this did not prevent a number of technical issues arising, including those mentioned by your constituent. ScotRail activated enhanced incident management arrangements through a dedicated Command Centre operating jointly with SilverRail, the new retail platform provider. ScotRail advises that the majority of the issues have now been resolved with the remaining issues expected to be remedied shortly. I expect that ScotRail continues to work at pace in order to minimise disruption to passengers.

ScotRail will continue to monitor the performance of the app, review customer feedback and make further improvements, where required. With regards to communication regarding the app, my officials have spoken to ScotRail executives to ensure that their communications give helpful and up to date information to their passenger (sic).

In the meantime, passengers can continue to load tickets on to smartcards at ticket offices, Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) or from onboard staff if neither are available at your departure station.

 

[davp]

I have received a reply from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport.

I have just followed up a complaint about Club 50 with the new app made 21 working days ago. I haven't had a response from Scotrail. They are in breach of their own complaint handling policy. I imagine they are snowed under with questions and complaints, although you wouldn't know it from their upbeat comms around it all.

The app was tested before launch but as your constituent has noted, this did not prevent a number of technical issues arising, including those mentioned by your constituent.

It would be interesting to see the governance documentation around their testing process. It is quite an admission from a minister.

 

[Ziggiesden]

I have received a reply from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport.

It didn't answer, any of the four questions I asked (reproduced below), but that's what we've come to expect when asking politicians questions which would result in an uncomfortable situation if they were answered in good faith.

1. Why the app was launched when it hadn't been tested and was clearly not ready for public use.
2. Why ScotRail are not being honest with rail customers in Scotland about the problems with the app.
3. When the new app will provide at least the same functionality as was present in the old one.
4. ScotRail's assessment of the likely reputational damage and lost revenue caused by this botched app launch.

We now know the answer to question 1 from the contract award notice: there were only two months between contract award and the latest possible go-live date of 31 July 2026 (when Trainline pulled the plug).

The substantive paragraphs are reproduced below. The highlights are mine.

ScotRail launched its new app and website booking engine on 30 July 2026 as part of a wider programme intended to improve customers' experience of planning journeys, purchasing tickets and managing their travel. The new platform forms part of an investment programme that will introduce new customer-facing features, and is expected to consolidate various legacy systems while supporting ScotRail’s future multimodal and integrated ticketing ambitions.

The app was tested before launch but as your constituent has noted, this did not prevent a number of technical issues arising, including those mentioned by your constituent. ScotRail activated enhanced incident management arrangements through a dedicated Command Centre operating jointly with SilverRail, the new retail platform provider. ScotRail advises that the majority of the issues have now been resolved with the remaining issues expected to be remedied shortly. I expect that ScotRail continues to work at pace in order to minimise disruption to passengers.

ScotRail will continue to monitor the performance of the app, review customer feedback and make further improvements, where required. With regards to communication regarding the app, my officials have spoken to ScotRail executives to ensure that their communications give helpful and up to date information to their passenger (sic).

In the meantime, passengers can continue to load tickets on to smartcards at ticket offices, Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) or from onboard staff if neither are available at your departure station.

We have had issues with SmartCard at TVMs. Notably the new Back Office seemingly does not recognise certain types of SmartCard and therefore cannot delete old products. The upshot is once your card is full you cannot buy any more tickets, as it is full. On another note, we cannot refund as we cannot get authority (same Back Office issue above in that this facility has not yet been enabled) so, are having to refund manually to cash at the moment. If you need money for the kitty, and are skint, that’s how you go about it.

We are now recommending FlexiPass buyers who cannot buy at a ticket office, as FlexiPass is now not yet enabled on TTK Avocet, to buy twelve journeys and then claim a refund on the difference plus any associated costs via Customer Relations. Many cannot get the App to work at all. Some get it to work ok on the morning journey, but not on the return, with FlexiPass.

The good news is that email confirmations are being accepted for travel, so depending on your usage of the FlexiPass, and how long this takes to resolve, you get to travel free.

Every little helps.

It is interesting to see that the politicians do not know what is actually going on or were misinformed as to the extent of issues with these extremely well-tested systems.

 

[kkong]

It would be interesting to see the governance documentation around their testing process. It is quite an admission from a minister.

There are some FoI requests due to be answered by the end of this week, so perhaps something will fall out of those.

 

[scosutsut]

I have received a reply from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport.

It didn't answer, any of the four questions I asked (reproduced below), but that's what we've come to expect when asking politicians questions which would result in an uncomfortable situation if they were answered in good faith.

1. Why the app was launched when it hadn't been tested and was clearly not ready for public use.
2. Why ScotRail are not being honest with rail customers in Scotland about the problems with the app.
3. When the new app will provide at least the same functionality as was present in the old one.
4. ScotRail's assessment of the likely reputational damage and lost revenue caused by this botched app launch.

We now know the answer to question 1 from the contract award notice: there were only two months between contract award and the latest possible go-live date of 31 July 2026 (when Trainline pulled the plug).

The substantive paragraphs are reproduced below. The highlights are mine.

Thanks for coming back on this.

There are some FoI requests due to be answered by the end of this week, so perhaps something will fall out of those.

Will stick the popcorn heater on.

 

[Aaron_TTL]

I'd also love to know how much revenue the old app generated vs the new one, because once someone installs another app to buy tickets because Scotrail doesn't work, its going to take a lot of effort to get them to switch back.

 

[David M]

...because once someone installs another app to buy tickets because Scotrail doesn't work, its going to take a lot of effort to get them to switch back.

I've used many companies to buy Scotrail tickets through, ranging from Chiltern to Northern - generally dependant on whether Quidco or TopCashback are giving cashback on them.
The Northern App is/was already on my mobile and I have no issues with mtickets so quite happy to continue using it until the Scotrail app is fully fixed.

 

[kkong]

The first FoI response has been provided by ScotRail and is, as expected, derisory and evasive.

It is also late, for no good reason other than to try and make the story go away (in my opinion).

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/new_app_rollut#outgoing-2142292

Fortunately, the requester is not accepting their response and has requested an internal review.

I would expect an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner if the internal review does not provide *a lot* more detail.

Q1. The migration to the new ScotRail App was always scheduled to take place on the 30 July 2026.

Q2. The date of 30 July 2026 was chosen as launch date as it was the day after the previous app supplier contract ended.

Q3. ScotRail did not have one employee responsible for the commission of the new app. The programme was overseen by a Programme Assurance Group, which was attended by members of the ScotRail Executive and other senior staff. Daily management and implementation of the app programme was managed by a Steering Group and supported by a PMO function; and Workstream Management process which all ultimately reported to the Programme Assurance Group. This was the governance structure that underpinned the decision making associated with the project.

Q4. ScotRail did not have one employee responsible for the commission of the new app. The programme was overseen by a Programme Assurance Group, which was attended by members of the ScotRail Executive and other senior staff. Daily management and implementation of the app programme was managed by a Steering Group and supported by a PMO function; and Workstream management process which all ultimately reported to the Programme Assurance Group. This was the governance structure that underpinned the decision making associated with the project.

 

[GregSRHST]

Does anyone know how much of the £83.8m ScotRail/SilverRail retail systems contract has actually gone towards developing and launching the new app?

I know the £83.8m covers a lot more than just the app, including the website, ticket vending machines, central ticketing system and ongoing support, but I’d be interested to know if there’s ever been a breakdown showing what the app itself has cost.

Has anyone seen anything in the tender documents, board papers or elsewhere that gives a figure?

Also, for anyone who knows more about these sorts of contracts, is £83.8m around a normal amount for a project like this, or would that be considered particularly high?

 

[styles]

Also, for anyone who knows more about these sorts of contracts, is £83.8m around a normal amount for a project like this, or would that be considered particularly high?

I can't comment on the ancillary sales mechanisms like TVMs adn ticket offices, but even a quarter of this for a mobile app is comical. Or at least, I'm in the wrong business!

 

[davp]

The first FoI response has been provided by ScotRail and is, as expected, derisory and evasive.

It is also late, for no good reason other than to try and make the story go away (in my opinion).

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/new_app_rollut#outgoing-2142292

Fortunately, the requester is not accepting their response and has requested an internal review.

I would expect an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner if the internal review does not provide *a lot* more detail.

This is not the response you would expect from a well established FOI team. They are not quite saying it, but they seem to be suggesting there isn't an accountable officer for the workstream. That cannot be the case.

I imagine someone will be FOIing the minutes of those meetings, if that hasn't happened already. The risk register for the project would be interesting reading too.

 

[kkong]

The (budgeted) cost of the app has now been disclosed.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/requ...app?nocache=incoming-3548545#incoming-3548545

Accordingly, I can confirm the total budgeted cost of the new ScotRail app, inclusive of development, testing, accreditation and launch costs, is approximately £420k.

Interesting to see that the cost includes "testing and accreditation".

We can also see from the released Invitation to Negotiate document that the originally intended Contract Award Date was "by end of Nov 2025".

The actual Contract Award Date was 29 May 2026, i.e. six months late and only two months before the Trainline contract ended.

I assume that Trainline were not amenable to extending the contract, because surely they were approached by ScotRail to give SilverRail more time to finish the app... weren't they?

 

[davp]

The actual Contract Award Date was 29 May 2026, i.e. six months late and only two months before the Trainline contract ended.

Two months to design, code, test and accredit a new app and website booking engine is quite ambitious isn't it?

 

[Haywain]

Two months to design, code, test and accredit a new app and website booking engine is quite ambitious isn't it?

MVP - minimum viable product. Get something up and running that covers the basics, and the rest can follow.

 

[kkong]

MVP - minimum viable product. Get something up and running that covers the basics, and the rest can follow.

It didn't cover the basics though.

Arguably it still doesn't 6 weeks later.

It's still overcharging for some journeys as I reported in this thread a long time ago.

An Anniesland to Edinburgh day return shouldn't cost £39.40 return in any circumstance.

It certainly shouldn't be calculated based on a split consisting of 4 x Anytime Day Single to make the return journey.

 

[Wallsendmag]

MVP - minimum viable product. Get something up and running that covers the basics, and the rest can follow.

Can you remember the Kadfire POC? Just saying, same back end.

 

[davp]

MVP - minimum viable product. Get something up and running that covers the basics, and the rest can follow.

I'd go along with calling the app on launch day something, but viable is doing some heavy lifting.

It worries me that they didn't appreciate the risks involved in the situation. On launch day they did not have a functioning app that provided a robust interface to purchase tickets. Many people couldn't even log in.

Six weeks on and some of the more absurd bugs are still there. I can see the next Edinburgh train from Stromness will leave from platform 4. I can even buy an advance single on the 1452 departure from Stromness to Edinburgh today for £22.50.

 

[dtaylor84]

The problem with the minimal viable product is they are not launching a brand new product. They are replacing an existing app with many complicated features. Throwing that all out and starting again is regressing 10 years.

 

[shotts56]

Six weeks down the line and the app is still dreadful. Still getting logged out most days, and this morning's delight was the app giving me a pop up saying my Flexipass ticket was "missing" and I should contact Customer Services to resolve the issue. No amount of deleting, reinstalling, logging back in or anything can make the pop up go away.

Emailed Customer Services, and got a message back saying they will respond to me in 10 working days. How useful.

 

[Deerfold]

The problem with the minimal viable product is they are not launching a brand new product. They are replacing an existing app with many complicated features. Throwing that all out and starting again is regressing 10 years.

That seems to be common.

BBC Sounds had many of the problems that iPlayer Radio had had, but had fixed years previously. It's now a good app, but took perhaps a year to get where the old one had been.

LNER still don't allow the purchase of more than one ticket (unless it's two advances as a return between the same two stations) in one transaction, something I'd been doing for years on the old system and that they told me would return last summer.

 

[speedy1]

'MVP' gets abused as an excuse for poor engineering, poor business analysis and poor management. They're useful for establishing product-market fit, but ticket retailing is an established market and an established product. There is no revolutionising ticket retailing here, no need for rapid feedback because it's hardly unchartered territory

 

[35B]

'MVP' gets abused as an excuse for poor engineering, poor business analysis and poor management. They're useful for establishing product-market fit, but ticket retailing is an established market and an established product. There is no revolutionising ticket retailing here, no need for rapid feedback because it's hardly unchartered territory

Tell that to those in the industry, who believe each new project is bright and new and different.

Ultimately, Scotrail lost control of this by either not understanding, or not being willing to pay for, or not communicating the minimum standard was required

 

[Adam Williams]

Can you remember the Kadfire POC? Just saying, same back end.

Was the tix retail on that originally something SilverRail-powered? Interesting.

 

[ricoblade]

'MVP' gets abused as an excuse for poor engineering, poor business analysis and poor management. They're useful for establishing product-market fit, but ticket retailing is an established market and an established product. There is no revolutionising ticket retailing here, no need for rapid feedback because it's hardly unchartered territory

Yes, and/or the customer wants "something" quickly and cheap (in the short term).

 

[Grinner]

New update to the app has been rolled out, they've finally worked out how to do an earlier/later function instead of having to go back and alter times.

 

[MadCommuter]

I keep having issues with the app freezing and also if I'm offline, it won't let me activate a ticket. I'm sure the last version allowed this

 

[scosutsut]

I feel sorry for anyone reliant on Flexipass and thus stuck using the app.

On that subject, the ScotRail website claims you can load to smartcard via the app. Have they added this functionality to the new app or is the website out of date?