SCOTRAIL has advised against carrying e-scooters onto trains while moves are made for a UK-wide review about their safety.
The train operator gave the advice after one union raised concerns about their after after reports of them catching fire.
It comes after one train passenger was kicked off a ScotRail train for travelling with an e-scooter although there is no official policy banning them.
Paul Nixon, a 43-year-old general manager, was on the 7.55am service from North Berwick to East Lothian on November 26 when he claims the train driver forced him to leave the train.
ScotRail has said that e-scooters are not banned but that they are considering updating its policy.
Transport union TSSA said a ban on carrying e-scooters on London's transport network should be enforced after a battery caught fire on the Tube, last month.
Passengers had to abandon a service at Parsons Green station in west London on Monday after a scooter caught fire then continued to burn on the platform.
An e-scooter being held in lost property caught fire at Transport for London (TfL) staff accommodation in Stanmore, north-west London, on October 26.
Transport union TSSA said e-scooters posed a "significant threat" to the public and rail staff.
It said TfL should halt the carrying of e-scooters on all its services.
Lithium-ion batteries, which are often used in e-scooters, are susceptible to failure if the wrong chargers are used, London Fire Brigade [LFB] has said.
ScotRail is asking customers to avoid bringing e-scooters onto trains and said an industry-wide review is required that would likely by conducted by the Rail Delivery Group.
A ScotRail spokesman said: “Following two recent cases of e-scooters causing fire on public transport in London, an industry wide review on the carriage of e-scooters is required.
“Until further guidance can be issued, we would ask customers to avoid carrying e-scooters on board our trains. If a customer does need to travel with an e-scooter in the meantime, it must be folded for the entirety of their journey.”
Electrically powered mobility scooters, for people with restricted mobility and electric cycles (e-bikes) can be carried on all ScotRail services, according to ScotRail's official advice.
According to ScotRail's information, light travel scooters, no greater than 41 inches long and 222 inches wide and with a combined weight of less than 660 pounds "of user and scooter" can be accepted on all trains. The train operator states they are the only models that can be "safely and efficiently manoeuvred" into the disabled space.
"The scooter must be parked and immobilised with the key taken out or battery switched off," according to the guidance.
In terms of e-bikes, ScotRail's advice states: "Where cycle storage is provided that involves hanging the bike up by the wheel on our hooked cycle storage, we recommend where possible that customers remove their e-bike battery. This will reduce the bike's weight and make it easier for you when lifting your bike onto the hook."
Avanti West Coast, which operates services between London and Scotland says electric scooters can be taken on trains, if it can be folded and stored in the luggage section.
Otherwise it is not permitted.
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