Scotrail has changed its pricing system following complaints that long-distance workers heading to Aberdeen Airport from Moray were being “ripped off”.
Michael Russell flies from Dyce roughly every fortnight to reach his workplace in the south of England.
For a year, he has complained about being unable to purchase a standard price open return train ticket from Elgin to Dyce, to make the trip less hassle.
And Mr Russell claims that businessmen and offshore workers whose jobs involve rail travel from Moray to Aberdeen Airport have expressed similar frustrations.
However it was only following pressure from newly elected Moray MP Douglas Ross that Scotrail yesterday relented and announced a change in its ticket policy.
Mr Russell lost his offshore job in the downturn and started working in manufacturing at a plant in Luton last year.
The 51-year-old said: “I was a victim of cutbacks and the only suitable job I could find was down in England.
“I commute by getting the plane from Aberdeen to Luton Airport, which means taking a train from Elgin to Dyce fairly frequently.
“Soon I realised that you couldn’t get standard price open return tickets from Elgin though, it would have to be first class prices.
“Scotrail never answered me on why it was possible to buy first class but not standard, they just fobbed me off.
“Having the security of the open return ticket is important to long-distance commuters as that keeps you covered if there are flight delays.”
Mr Ross, who was elected to represent Moray at Westminster last Thursday, said he had been dealing with the “unfair” issue for months.
The Conservative politician said: “I wrote to Scotrail last year about this, but they didn’t change the system.
“Passengers were faced with either buying two single tickets or a first class return ticket.
“I felt this was wrong so I wrote to ScotRail again last month asking for them to review the situation again.”
The open return tickets from Aberdeen to Dyce are expected to come into effect in September.
A Scotrail spokesman said: “We are committed to working and engaging with our local communities to provide the best possible service for our passengers.”
