A SCOTRAIL travel club has attracted 100,000 members despite controversy that it offered passengers poorer value for money than a previous scheme.
Club 50, launched in September after Dutch operator Abellio took over the ScotRail franchise earlier this year, offers 20 per cent discounts on all off-peak and advance fares booked online by people over 50.
Members pay an annual joining fee of £10-15 which also entitles them to free tea or coffee from on-board catering trolleys, special deals on short breaks or dining offers, and a 10 per cent "walk-up" discount on tickets purchased in the station.
However, campaigners have urged Abellio to reinstate ScotRail's long-standing Club 55 scheme, which they say was easier to use and offered older passengers substantial savings.
Unlike Club 50, it allowed travellers aged over 55 could turn up at any station, provide proof of age and buy a standard class off-peak fare between any two stations throughout Scotland for £19 return, without any membership fee or a requirement to book online in advance.
They could also travel first-class for only £35 return, as long as the seat was booked by 6pm the day before.
ScotRail have rewarded their 100,000th Club 50 member, William Thomson, with a two-night stay for two at Macdonald Aviemore Resort.
Mr Thomson, 55, from Thornton, also received two first-class rail tickets to and from the Highland resort.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to our trip to Aviemore and we’re already planning further fun journeys around Scotland using the great Club 50 scheme.”
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