r/Glasgow Tools

If you buy a return ticket you can use it repeatedly but you are not supposed to. There are some basic guidlines in order to achieve this:

Best get a cardboard ticket as they will go through the barriers multiple times. To get a cardboard ticket you need to use the Scotrail website, not the app. When you pay for the ticket you can select collection from a vending machine / station pickup. The vending machines still issue cardboard tickets. Tickets with a QR code may not scan repeatedly.

You also need to ensure that you do not put the ticket into a barrier that will retain it so you need to purchase a ticket for one further stop. For example purchase a ticket to High Street if you are travelling to the city.

Of course you can purchase directly from a vending machine but they only allow travel from that station so you can't fiddle it in the same way as the website. For example travelling from Glasgow Central to Dalmuir you would need a High Street to Dalmuir ticket. You could not purchase that directly from a vending machine in Glasgow Central but you can on the website then immediately collect the ticket. There are no barriers at Dalmuir so no need to puchase a ticket for beyond that station.

Tickets purchased onboard the train and at most ticket offices are of the bog roll type with QR codes. They need to be scanned to pass through the barriers. It is unclear however if multiple scans will work. It's a grey area. Every scan is logged so theoretically using a ticket multiple times could come back and bite you on the bum.

If you are referring to breaking your journey as in getting off and then back on again then yes that is 100% permitted and as many times as you like.