TRANSPORT leaders have called for train fares in Strathclyde to rise to address historic anomalies in prices and help fund rail investment in the east of Scotland.

Sestran, a body drawn from councils in the east and south of the country, said passengers in the west should pay the same as those in the rest of the country.

Passengers in Strathclyde, who take about 64% of all Scottish train journeys, pay significantly lower fares than in other parts of the country, as a result of caps maintained by Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive (SPTE) when it was responsible for ScotRail services.

For instance, a fully flexible ticket between Perth and Edinburgh is £14.50, working out at 34p per mile, while a slightly shorter journey between Ayr and Glasgow is £7.50, or 21p per mile.

Sestran wants overcrowding on Edinburgh train services to be addressed, as passenger growth in the east of Scotland is predicted to be twice that of the Scottish network in general over the next decade.

Sestran told the Scottish Government's Rail 2014 consultation it had "serious concerns" about the capacity of the capital's rail network.

Alistair Watson, Glasgow councillor and former chairman of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, which replaced SPTE, said he wanted to cut fares in the east of Scotland but not at the expense of Strathclyde passengers.