Father’s anger at Scotrail over Linlithgow teen’s train ticket row

The father of a teenage girl left potentially stranded in Edinburgh after a guard confiscated her monthly train pass has hit out at Scotrail.
Niamh Devery pictured at Linlithgow Train Station.Niamh Devery pictured at Linlithgow Train Station.
Niamh Devery pictured at Linlithgow Train Station.

While travelling from her hometown of Linlithgow to meet a friend in Edinburgh, Niamh Devery (17) had her £75 ticket taken from her by the guard because she did not have her Young Scot card with her. Niamh regularly takes the train to the capital and has never been asked to show the card before.

Her father Paul Devery is angry at Scotrail for not accepting other forms of ID Niamh had and insisting on seeing her Young Scot card.

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He said: “She goes to college in the town every morning. There was a holiday last week so she went to meet her pal to go ice skating.

“To get a ticket you need a young Scot card. The guard said he had to take her ticket off her. So obviously she never had a ticket to come home.

“I think it’s outrageous they can do that. But apparently it is in the small print.

“However, Scotrail Customer Service said the guard shouldn’t have taken her ticket. So I’m absolutely raging that the guard has done that to a young girl travelling on her own.

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“She had other photo ID, but not what is required for the ticket. She has never been asked before and she travels every day on the train.”

Luckily Niamh had money to get home but Paul was still fuming, he said: “All the guard had to say was ‘remember your card next time’. Don’t leave a teenage girl potentially stranded!

“I think people should be aware that if you get somebody having a bad day your kid could be stranded.

“She didn’t think to take the card, but had her student ID to prove who she was.

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“The customer service person shouldn’t say to me the guard shouldn’t have done that if the guard felt he had the power to do so.

“She won’t make that mistake again. But a gentle reminder and warning from the guard would have been better.

“And I don’t know what is going to happen to her ticket. Scotrail don’t have a clue how they will get it back to her. That’s £75 for a monthly ticket, gone because she didn’t have her Young Scot card with her.”

A ScotRail spokesperson said: “As it’s an age restricted product, customers must be in possession of their Young Scot card in order to validate their ticket.”

The spokesperson added that as the reference number on a customer’s Young Scot card is replicated on the season ticket, the card is needed to validate the ticket.