ScotRail's new ticketing app sparked more than 360 passenger complaints within just two days of its launch, prompting bosses to set up an emergency "command centre" to manage the fallout, the Mail can reveal. The nationalised rail operator was forced to apologise in July after the app's rollout descended into what it admitted was a "shambles", with morning rush-hour commuters unable to log in after password reset emails failed to arrive or were badly delayed. The episode matters because ScotRail is publicly owned, having been nationalised by the Scottish Government in 2022, yet it is refusing to disclose how much taxpayers' money was spent on the troubled system.

Figures released under Freedom of Information law show 492 complaints were logged between 30 and 31 July alone, of which 364 were classified as app-related, while social media complaints were not tracked due to high volume. Rail chiefs exchanged around 600 emails with app developer SilverRail during the crisis, and the command centre ran for almost 12 days, from 29 July to 10 August. ScotRail declined to reveal the app's cost, citing commercial sensitivity, drawing criticism from Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Tim Eagle, who accused the SNP-run operator of dismissing serious failures as a "wee glitch". Passengers have continued to report being logged out and other issues weeks after launch.