RAIL travellers in Scotland enjoy some of the cheapest rail fares in the UK, according to a new study.
Passengers travelling from Glasgow Central station or Edinburgh Waverley station pay much less per mile than their counterparts south of the border.
Londoners however pay significantly more per mile than anyone else in the UK when travelling to 15 of the nation's major cities.
Distance does not seem to be a major factor in pricing, according to the study by Voucherbox.
While Scottish residents enjoy the cheapest fares, those travelling from Nottingham face the second highest priced fares in the UK despite their central location.
The rail fare lottery has been exposed following a study of the price of single 'anytime' journey between 15 of Britain's major population centres.
It revealed that those living in London face an average cost of 56p per mile when travelling by train.
By contrast, travellers leaving Glasgow by train pay an average of just 33p per mile and those leaving Edinburgh just 41p per mile.
Shane Forster, country manager from Voucherbox.co.uk, said: "We are surprised by the large price per mile differences which clearly show that travellers from certain cities are paying a great deal more for trips that are the same distance - this could be due to demand, changing operators, number of stops per journey among other things,however overall the findings highlight something of a pricing postcode lottery for the UK's train users."
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents Network Rail and train operators, said pricing was governed by a number of factors including demand.
He added: "Only a small fraction of passengers travelling long distances buy the most expensive walk-up 'anytime' fares quoted here.
"Rail journeys have doubled in 20 years as passengers have been attracted by a range of good value fares, with sales of discounted tickets increasing by a quarter in just eight years."
The second most expensive place to travel from in the UK is Nottingham, with journeys commencing from there working out at 54p per mile.
Nearby Leicester is the third most expensive place to start your train travel from, at 53p per mile.
The findings follow a study of the cheapest, single anytime train ticket prices for next day travel available through nationalrail.co.uk.
The study included fares from every major UK operator, such as Virgin Trains, CrossCountry and East Midlands.
The study also highlights Britain's cheapest and most expensive rail journeys per mile.
The cheapest journey per mile overall is from Birmingham to Coventry at £3.60 for a 23-mile trip, which works out at 16p per mile.
The most expensive route in the study was from Nottingham to Birmingham at £1.25 per mile, with a total cost of £65.50 for the 52.2-mile trip.
In contrast a 37.7-mile journey from Nottingham to Sheffield costs just £13.20 or 35p per mile.
*Meanwhile, about 8,000 people have applied for 100 train driver jobs on Scotland's railways in just one week.
ScotRail is recruiting trainee train drivers for depots including Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Gourock, Inverness, Perth and Stirling.
During their first year of training, they will be paid £24,559, which will gradually rise to £43,212 following a probationary period.
The company launched the recruitment drive as part of its plans to expand timetables and roll out faster, bigger and greener trains.
Applications opened last Thursday and close next Wednesday.
Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said: "These new roles present a great opportunity for those looking to embark on an exciting new career in the railway.
"Supporting the people of Scotland and the country's economy is very important to us.
"Our staff are our biggest asset and we're looking forward to welcoming a further batch of driver recruits to ScotRail."
New recruits will be put on a one-year training programme which consists of a mix of classroom-based learning, route learning and at least 265 hours of supervised driving.
Following training, drivers have a three-week period of driving exams and will be issued with a train driving licence if they pass.
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