Sell Your Unused ScotRail Ticket
Booked with ScotRail and can’t travel? Recover what you paid instead of losing it.
Photo: ScotRail Class 380 No. 380002 arriving at Largs · Geof Sheppard / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
ScotRail runs almost all passenger services within Scotland, with Glasgow Central as its principal hub and Edinburgh Waverley as the other major Scottish terminus its network fans out from. If a shift changed, your plans moved, or you booked the wrong service, an unused ScotRail ticket doesn’t have to go to waste.
SaveMyFare lets you list an eligible unused ticket for another traveller to buy at a lower price than a fresh fare. It’s free to list, and you only pay a 10% platform fee if it sells.
Can you sell an unused ScotRail ticket?
ScotRail operates under the same National Rail Conditions of Travel as every other train operating company in Great Britain. Under Condition 5, a ticket can be transferred to another passenger if it wasn’t made out in your name or tied to a Railcard, the journey hasn’t started, and you don’t resell it for more than you originally paid. A ScotRail Advance single from Glasgow Central to Edinburgh Waverley that cost £14 can be transferred for £14 or less, not for more because it’s a peak-hour service.
Full detail on what qualifies is in our guide to which train tickets can be transferred.
Refunding a ScotRail ticket vs. selling it
A standard ScotRail refund, unrelated to any delay or cancellation, must be requested by 23:59 the day before your travel date, and carries a £5 admin fee (£10 for Season and Rover/Travel Pass tickets). Flat-fare and promotional tickets keep a longer window, claimable up to 28 days after the ticket expires. There’s also a catch worth knowing: if you bought your ticket through a third party like Trainline rather than directly from ScotRail, the refund has to go through that retailer instead. If any of that makes a refund impractical, selling the ticket on SaveMyFare recovers the full amount, whoever you bought it from.
Example
You paid £18 for a ticket from Glasgow Central to Edinburgh Waverley bought through a third-party app, then your plans changed the day before travel. A refund would need to go through that retailer, not ScotRail directly. Selling the ticket on SaveMyFare for up to £18 gets your money back instead, with nothing deducted from you as the seller.
Delayed instead of unused? That’s Delay Repay, not resale
If you travelled and ScotRail’s train ran late, you may be owed compensation rather than needing to resell anything. Worth knowing here: ScotRail is one of only three operators in Great Britain still running the older 30-minute Delay Repay threshold, rather than the 15-minute standard most other operators on this site have moved to, so a slightly longer delay is needed before you qualify. The claim window is 28 days from the date of travel. Payment comes via PayPal or cash vouchers valid for 12 months, with a donation to Age Scotland offered as an alternative to taking the payout yourself. Selling a ticket only applies before the journey happens — once you’ve boarded, Delay Repay is the route to compensation instead.
Where ScotRail tickets sell fastest
Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley are Scotland’s two main rail hubs, and demand on SaveMyFare is highest on the route connecting them, alongside journeys out to Aberdeen and Stirling.
How to list your ScotRail ticket
Add your ticket details
Enter the departure and arrival stations, travel date, time, coach and seat number if reserved, and the original price you paid.
Set your asking price
Price at or below what you paid — SaveMyFare enforces this at listing, matching the National Rail transfer condition.
We check it
Your listing is reviewed against the transfer conditions before it goes live, so buyers can trust what they're buying.
Get paid once it sells
Payment is held securely and released 48 hours after the travel date, once the journey has taken place.
Travelling with a different operator too? The steps above apply the same way whichever train company issued your ticket — see our guide to selling a train ticket on SaveMyFare for the full overview.
Common questions
Can I sell an unused ScotRail ticket?
Yes, if it meets the National Rail transfer conditions: it isn’t made out in your name or tied to a Railcard, your journey hasn’t started, and you don’t sell it for more than you paid. This applies to Advance fares across ScotRail’s network, whether the journey starts in Glasgow, Edinburgh, or elsewhere in Scotland — see our full Advance ticket transfer guide for the complete rules.
I bought my ScotRail ticket through Trainline, not scotrail.co.uk. Can I still get a refund?
Not directly from ScotRail. Tickets bought through a third-party retailer like Trainline have to be refunded through that retailer, not ScotRail itself. If that route isn't straightforward for your ticket, or you'd rather skip the process entirely, selling it on SaveMyFare for what you paid is the alternative.
What's the deadline for a standard ScotRail refund?
A refund unrelated to disruption must be requested by 23:59 the day before the travel date, and carries a £5 admin fee (£10 for Season and Rover/Travel Pass tickets). Flat-fare and promotional tickets keep the longer option of claiming up to 28 days after the ticket expires. If your window has closed, selling the ticket recovers your money instead.
My ScotRail train was delayed instead of unused, is that a resale situation?
No, a delay to a train you actually travelled on is a Delay Repay claim, not a resale. ScotRail is one of only three operators still using the older 30-minute Delay Repay threshold rather than the 15-minute standard most operators now use, and you have 28 days to claim. Payment comes via PayPal or cash vouchers valid for 12 months, with a donation to Age Scotland offered as an alternative. Selling only applies before you’ve travelled. See what to do with a non-refundable train ticket for the full picture.
Do I need a ScotRail account to sell my ticket?
No. Selling through SaveMyFare doesn't go through ScotRail's own systems at all. You list the ticket details with us, a buyer pays through SaveMyFare's secure checkout, and you transfer the ticket to them directly once it sells.
Is it illegal to sell a ScotRail ticket I can't use?
No, not when it's done within the rules. Reselling a train ticket isn't the same as touting an event ticket, which is restricted by separate legislation aimed at gig and sports tickets. A ScotRail ticket can legally change hands under National Rail's own Condition 5: it just has to be unnamed, not tied to a Railcard, unused, and sold for no more than you paid. Sell it above that price, or after the journey's started, and you'd be outside the rules ScotRail and every other operator work to.
SaveMyFare is an independent ticket resale marketplace and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ScotRail. “ScotRail” is used here to describe the operator a ticket is valid on, in line with National Rail’s published Conditions of Travel.
Got an unused ScotRail ticket?
Free to list. Paid 48 hours after travel. 10% fee only if it sells.
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