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

[kkong]

ScotRail have announced that their app and website booking engine will be moving from Trainline to a new supplier with effect from 30 July 2026.

Does anyone know which supplier they will be using?

https://www.scotrail.co.uk/important-information-about-buying-tickets

We’re launching a new ScotRail app and making changes to our website booking engine.

On Thursday, 30 July, we’re making changes to our mobile app and website booking engine to improve how you plan journeys, buy tickets and manage your travel.

This change is part of our ongoing work to make your customer experience simpler, faster, and more reliable.

What is changing on 30 July?

From Thursday, 30 July, we’ll be introducing a new ScotRail app and website booking engine, to replace the current system (supplied by Trainline).

This means that from 30 July, customer accounts will be transferred to the new supplier, and ticket purchases will only be available through the new app.

The current ScotRail app will no longer allow customers to buy tickets via the app.

 

[Kite159]

I wonder if it also means they are moving away from App-based M-Tickets to a more user-friendly PDF based E-Tickets system within the new booking engine.

 

[Wallsendmag]

I wonder if it also means they are moving away from App-based M-Tickets to a more user-friendly PDF based E-Tickets system within the new booking engine.

That was happening anyway

 

[alistairlees]

ScotRail have announced that their app and website booking engine will be moving from Trainline to a new supplier with effect from 30 July 2026.

Does anyone know which supplier they will be using?

SilverRail I believe.

 

[Bungle965]

SilverRail I believe.

Same as TfW then?

 

[alistairlees]

Same as TfW then?

No as that also involves hitachi. Probably more like GWR and SWR, at least from a back end perspective.

 

[Grinner]

Well, I've downloaded the app, and tried the password reset as instructed. No response with a link for password reset (I have of course checked my spam folder).

 

[smsm1]

The password reset took a while to come through (up to an hour), so just be patient. Suspect there is a huge influx of password resets and they are queued up.

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The new app doesn't seem to do split tickets any more, also no later or earlier buttons for the train departure list, instead you have to go back and edit the times. Would be a pain for the less frequent routes.

 

[81A]

I still am seeing split tickets on the mobile website (don't have the app, so can't say regarding it). Unfortunately, M-tickets live on for walk up fares in Scotland... And they seem to be available for English journeys as well, alongside E-tickets!

Not sure why anyone (who didn't have a particular desire to use an outdated ticket format for some reason) would prefer them to E-ticket where both are available?

 

[smsm1]

If you are buying a return be careful as the first out bound journey you select if you want a single or return, and that option sticks to the single default rather than the cheaper return option. No option to change it when you select the return.

If you aren't logged in you have to pick up from the station. Need an account logged in to use the m-tickets.

 

[scosutsut]

I had the password reset issue too, but as it's an old email address that auto forwards anyway it was an opportunity to update it. Not like I'm losing anything.

It's inability to look stations up by CRS code despite them being listed against the station names is a lovely bit of non functionality.

It also throws a misleading error if you try and use an ampersand in a custom station or journey name.

So early impressions are really quite poor.

 

[teaspoon]

Well, I've downloaded the app, and tried the password reset as instructed. No response with a link for password reset (I have of course checked my spam folder).

seems to be a common problem - on my train this morning the ticket examiner said a lot of people had been having the same problem (and there was no mention of the £10 fare for any tickets she was selling on board)

 

[Grinner]

It's come through eventually, and I've managed to buy a ticket. My main annoyance now is that you can't easily click to see earlier/later trains when searching for a train, you have to go back and change the search time it seems.

 

[Coleridge]

I'm struggling to add the details of my railcard to the new app. It's asking for the railcard number, but seems to only accept digits, not letters. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong, but it's annoying.

 

[kkong]

I have seven identical copies of my address in the new app.

Could not add Railcard at all, never mind any issues with numbers/letters. Eerror message thrown immediately upon selecting the "add" function

Error message when adding mobile number unless you remove the space yourself

As mentioned, you can search by CRS code but the results don't put the obvious choice at the top of the list (e.g. enter ABD expecting Aberdeen and Abbey Wood is the top result!)

Can no longer load smartcards within the app.

Can no longer save payment cards within the app

(The last two were at least acknowledged in advance, with a stated aspiration to "enhance" the app to restore this functionality).

In sure there will be much more of this shoddy nonsense when I look deeper.

 

[styles]

The station code search isn't just odd, but it's fuzzy matching as well.

If you search for EDB you get results in this order:

1. Subtring text matches from the station name (though it is odd that it's not even in alphabetical order with Ledbury coming before Bredbury)
2. The station matching the CRS code (if not included in number 1 above)
3. Stations which don't even have a substring match like Edale (EDL).

I assume the addition of number 3 is deliberate, but I feel like it should go 213 rather than 123.

 

[kkong]

The station code search isn't just odd, but it's fuzzy matching as well.

If you search for EDB you get results in this order:

1. Subtring text matches from the station name (though it is odd that it's not even in alphabetical order with Ledbury coming before Bredbury)
2. The station matching the CRS code (if not included in number 1 above)
3. Stations which don't even have a substring match like Edale (EDL).

I assume the addition of number 3 is deliberate, but I feel like it should go 213 rather than 123.

I don't think that's the matching order, because searching for ABD brings up Abbey Wood first, then Aberdare, neither of which meet criteria 1.

Then we get Aberdeen, which matches criteria 2.

Searching for ABC to try and return Altnabreac brings up a list of 10 stations (I assume the maximum number supported by the app), none of which is Altnabreac.

 

[alistairlees]

Perhaps it's an enjoyable mix of NLCs and TIPLOCs beneah the hood?

 

[styles]

I don't think that's the matching order, because searching for ABD brings up Abbey Wood first, then Aberdare, neither of which meet criteria 1.

Then we get Aberdeen, which matches criteria 2.

Searching for ABC to try and return Altnabreac brings up a list of 10 stations (I assume the maximum number supported by the app), none of which is Altnabreac.

Even more bizarre then!

I wondered just now whether it was literally just searching the station names for individual characters from the search string (so in ABD's case, Abbey Wood and Aberdare both contain the letters A, B, and D, for example).

But then I searched 'altn' thinking it might match Altnabreac, and it brought up Atherton (ATN) and Attadale (ATT), neither of which contain all of the letters A, T, L, and N. It also didn't successfully return Altnabreac.

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Perhaps it's an enjoyable mix of NLCs and TIPLOCs beneah the hood?

Good theory!

I just went and checked the 'altn' example though and Atherton's TIPLOC is ATHERTN. No Ls anywhere to be seen!

 

[kkong]

But then I searched 'altn' thinking it might match Altnabreac, and it brought up Atherton (ATN) and Attadale (ATT), neither of which contain all of the letters A, T, L, and N. It also didn't successfully return Altnabreac.

"Altn" does return Altnabreac for me. Perhaps did you enter "Atn" ?

 

[styles]

"Altn" does return Altnabreac for me. Perhaps did you enter "Atn" ?

Sorry I meant 'atln':

 

[Sealink]

Well, it recognised the station, just not any services.




== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Jul 2026 ==

"Altn" does return Altnabreac for me. Perhaps did you enter "Atn" ?

It worked for me too.

 

[styles]

Well, it recognised the station, just not any services.

I wondered whether it's because of how few services there are between say Wick and Inverness, but even if I set the departure time to 8am on that date (to find the 0802 service), it finds no results.

Figured it out. If you tap "More search options" and switch on "Direct trains only", it shows results:

 

[Coleridge]

I wondered whether it's because of how few services there are between say Wick and Inverness, but even if I set the departure time to 8am on that date (to find the 0802 service), it finds no results.

Figured it out. If you tap "More search options" and switch on "Direct trains only", it shows results:

You really have to question whether this app was tested at all before it was rolled out.

 

[styles]

You really have to question whether this app was tested at all before it was rolled out.

Maybe they're in competition with Emirates Skywards Rail for the worst possible booking experience.

 

[alistairlees]

Oh dear. Now an article on BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cddjzgv3zl1o

ScotRail has apologised for the chaotic launch of its new app, which left hundreds of passengers unable to book train tickets.

The operator replaced its existing system, provided by Trainline, with an updated ticketing platform for travellers on Thursday morning.

Complaints on ScotRail's social media channels saw a series of issues with passengers being forced to reset account passwords and journeys not appearing in booking searches.

ScotRail said there were some "challenges" and "technical problems", but these issues had been resolved by the evening.

Many people attempting to catch morning trains were frustrated by the processes involved before they could buy tickets.

Passengers on social media branded the roll-out a "shambles" and a "nonsense".

 

[styles]

One other odd thing - when you go to select seating preferences, under "Direction" you can select "Forwards", "Backwards", or "Airline style".

Then there's a separate dropdown for "Table", with the options "Required" and "Not required".

I understand that the Wick-Inverness train reverses, but what happens if you select direction airline style, table required?

Also under "Position", you can choose "Window", "Aisle", or "Middle". What are they considering a middle seat?

Also instead of saying something like, "Near toilet", it just says, "Lavatory" with options "Required" or "Not required". Don't know about others but I tend not to know 2 weeks in advance whether I'll need the toilet

 

[speedy1]

19.5 seconds for simple search. Impressively bad!

It doesn't honour the "Open Return" option you select on the home page. Yet another website that "whoops" only shows singles...

This is basic stuff even a junior outsourced QA engineer would pick up

The 2 second fade-in of the sidebar when selecting a fare is silly too

4 seconds to continue after selecting a fare

Getting HTTP 500 quite often too

This screams of a low-cost integrator getting a contract to bodge together various crufty systems

 

[styles]

The fare screen showed "Anytime Day Single £28", then scroll to the bottom and it says "Total to pay: £0.00". Funnily enough when I clicked "Make booking", it gave me a payment error

 

[kkong]

The only way to bring up Wick is to use the CRS code (WCK).

Entering "Wick" shows a list of 10 stations in England and Wales.

To quote ScotRail's FAQ on the new app:

Why have we made these changes?

This is part of our ongoing work to improve the customer experience by making our digital services more reliable, easier to use and better aligned with customer needs.