ScotRail forced everyone onto a new ticket app in one day and couldn't sell tickets

On Thursday 30 July 2026, ScotRail replaced its existing ticketing system, provided by Trainline, with an updated booking platform and a new app. Passengers had been emailed earlier in the week that they would need the new app to buy tickets from that day, but the app was not available to download ahead of launch day. BBC Scotland reported that it was an entirely new app rather than an update, so users needed a new password and had to add payment details again.

Complaints piled up on ScotRail's social channels. Many users had to reset their password before logging in, and the reset emails were slow to arrive. Those who got in often found that journeys did not appear in searches, that railcards could not be linked and card details could not be saved, and that some stations (one passenger cited Wick) were missing from the station list. The ScotRail website booking system also failed to show available trains. Other passengers said the app needed iOS 17 and had not warned them, and one noted it landed during the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

ScotRail first told travellers they could keep using the old app until midday, then dropped the deadline as the problems continued. Passengers using the old app were prompted to download the new one, and some reported being unable to book with either. Chief operating officer David Ross told BBC Radio Scotland the trouble began when 'thousands and thousands of people' tried to switch at once, and blamed 'background infrastructure challenges' in the move away from Trainline. ScotRail said the issues were resolved by the evening.

Hundreds of passengers couldn't book on launch morning, many commuters were left frustrated, the old app also failed as a fallback, and ScotRail apologised.

The cutover was all-at-once: the old Trainline-based system was switched off for ticket buying the same day the new app went live.

The app was not on the app stores before launch day, so users could not install it ahead of the deadline and then hit a surge of simultaneous downloads.

The new app required fresh accounts, password resets and re-entered payment details, which put the migration work on passengers.

Basic data was missing or wrong at launch: stations absent from the list, journeys not appearing and railcards not linking.

Customers were not warned about requirements such as iOS 17, and one passenger asked why there was no controlled rollout in a selected area first.

A forced one-day cutover removes your fallback: if the new system and the old one can both fail on the same morning, a staged rollout is the cheaper insurance.

ScotRail apologised and said the problems were resolved by the evening of launch day. David Ross called 'glitches' a reasonable description, said any new app launch has them, and promised to review what was done and learn any lessons. BBC reported the rollout came a month after ScotRail introduced a minimum £10 fare for passengers boarding without a ticket.