Top five busiest stations in Fife are named

Data from the Office for Rail and Road looks at the number of people entering and exiting every train station in the country, including the 19 stations for which data was collected in the Kingdom.

The busiest station in the region was Inverkeithing with 746,000 entries and exits. It finished just ahead of Kirkcaldy which saw people enter and exit 642,000 times last year. Third spot went to Leuchars with 461,000 entries and exits, followed by Dunfermline City on 353,000, with Markinch completing the top five on 187,000.

The data was revealed as Fifers face a hefty hike in travel costs in the new year. Transport Scotland is set to increase train fares by 8.7%, effective from April.

The hike applies to all ScotRail fares - Ministers who signed off the increase said it was needed “to ensure rail services are sustainable in the longer term and that budgets align with the overall funding available.”

The ScotRail peak fares removal pilot will also be extended by three months until June.

Michael Solomon Wiliams, campaigns manager of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "It’s encouraging to see that station usage is on the rise, but to continue this upward trend and surpass pre-pandemic numbers, rail needs to be better value and more reliable.

"Instead of implementing another record-high increase, the Government should freeze rail fares as it has fuel duty and make green public transport cheaper".

Glasgow Central was the most used station in Scotland.