THE Scottish Greens have pledged to introduce a new railcard to immediately bring down the cost of fares. 

The party said the Scottish Railcard would be modelled on the existing Network Rail card in the South East of England, designed to encourage people to take the train rather than drive by reducing the cost of off-peak journeys by a third.

A similar move in Scotland would reduce the cost of an off-peak return from Glasgow to Dundee from £40.50 to £27.

Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: "The Scottish Greens are committed to making public transport the preferred choice for all our communities, to reduce the reliance on private cars.

"We’ve already won free bus travel for all people under 22 this year, and we want to introduce concessionary travel on publicly-owned railways too.

"A Scottish railcard would be a quick way to immediately bring down the cost of rail for everyone who lives here.

"It is a model which has worked well abroad and in the South East of England, and would help our train services recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

"If we are going to tackle transport emissions and ensure a green recovery from the pandemic, we need to be proactive in boosting public transport. Our future depends on it."

The Greens made the pledge ahead of the Holyrood election on May 6.