Privacy and cookies policy

Privacy refers to information we obtain about you and the use we make of it in the course of our business. We also have a Security Statement that describes how sensitive information is kept safe and secure.

If you don't find your concern addressed here, feel free to contact us by e-mail us using the feedback form on this site.

When I Visit Your Website, What Information Do You Gather About Me?

One of the basic principles we've followed in designing this website is that we ask for only the information we need to provide the service you've requested. As a result, the answer to this question depends almost entirely on how you choose to make use of our websites and the growing list of website services.

Currently website customers provide information in order to take advantage of the following services:

Purchases: Name, address, phone, e-mail, photo ID card and credit card information are necessary for purchase and delivery. Please note that credit card information is not stored beyond the period of transaction.

Promotional Offers: To supply this to you we need contact details. To make purchases we need the information identified above.Our licence requires us to maintain a record of all season ticket holders.

NB No other organisation is given access to your information.

Use of Information Collected

IP address information that we collect is not used to personally identify you and instead is aggregated to measure the number of visits, average time spent on the Site, pages viewed, etc. We use this information to measure the use of our Site and to improve its content. 

When other personal information, such as your name and e-mail address, is collected from you with your consent (for example, through the use of on-line forms or via e-mail etc.) we generally let you know at the time of collection how we will use that personal information. We may also use the personal information you provide or which we collect via this Site for the purposes of:

• providing any goods or services that you have requested from us (including registering for our Journey Check Alerts service or subscribing to receive information);
• billing you and contacting you where necessary concerning your orders (such as for ticket booking services);
• responding to your inquiries or to process your requests in relation to your information;
• providing and personalising our services generally;
• administering records of our subscription services;
• carrying out market research campaigns;
• maintaining information as a reference tool or general resource;
• making the Site easier for you to use and providing you with access to all parts of the Site; and
• helping you to quickly find services and information on the Site;
• where necessary, crime prevention and prosecution of offenders; and
• responding to specific requests, observations or complaints relating to any First ScotRail service.

Except with your permission or as provided herein, First ScotRail will not sell, trade or rent personal information about you to unaffiliated third parties. 

We may also use and disclose information in aggregate (so that no individuals are identified) for marketing and strategic development purposes or use and analyse the information we collect so that we can administer, support, improve and develop our business. 

In particular, we may use your information to contact you for your views on our services and to notify you occasionally about important changes or developments to the Site or our services. Further we might also use your information to contact you by post, telephone, fax, SMS or by e-mail (where you have consented to us doing so) to let you know about other products and services:

• which we offer and which may be of interest to you;
• which are offered jointly with or on behalf of other organizations.

If you change your mind about being contacted in the future, please let us know. 

By using the Site you consent to us using your personal information for the purposes described above.

What Are Cookies And Do You Use Them?

Our website (www.scotrail.co.uk) uses cookies. These are small text files that are stored on your computer or handheld device in order to make sure this site’s as easy to use as possible and give you an enhanced browsing experience. With the information these files provide us with, we can keep improving our website content, appearance and how it works in general.

What cookies do we use?

Strictly Necessary Cookies 
These cookies are essential to the website and are required in order for the website to operate. They support features such as;

• Linking a user to a session so that they can move from one page to the next.
• Detecting software on your computer which enables content on the site.

Performance Cookies 
These cookies aren’t essential – but the anonymous information they provide us with is really helpful. We use these cookies to;

• Collect information about how our website is used (including which pages are visited most often, error messages and how users came to visit our website).
• Help us ensure that the content and features on our website are relevant for your future visits.

Targeting or Advertising Cookies
These cookies are used to determine and deliver adverts that are more relevant to you. These cookies collect information about users browsing habits. They’re typically placed by advertising networks and are shared with other organisations and advertisers.

If you’d like to change your Cookies settings…
Here’s how to change your settings if you want to;

Check the 'Help' function of your browser to determine how to update your cookie settings. If you are having difficulty there, we recommend the website: http://www.aboutcookies.org/default.aspx. It contains a step-by-step guide explaining how to update your cookies settings on most web browsers. 

Please note that, in a few cases, switching off or deleting cookies may reduce the functionality of or prevent access to certain websites (including this website.) 

More information
For specific information on our website and how it uses cookies, we’ve included the following table.

Booking engine
Classification: Functionality and Performance cookies

Disclosures

The information you provide to us will be held on our server in the United Kingdom and may be accessed by or given to our staff and to third parties including our group companies and business partners (such as our web agency, database management company and, government bodies and law enforcement agencies, successors in title to our business and suppliers we engage to process data on our behalf, who act for us for the purposes set out in this policy or for other purposes approved by you. Those parties process information, fulfil and deliver orders, process credit card payments and provide support and other services on our behalf. We may also:

• disclose personal information you have provided through our Site to persons or companies that we retain to carry out promotions and other activities for which you have registered or in which you have otherwise asked to participate;
• pass aggregate information on the usage of our Site (e.g. we might disclose the median ages of visitors to our Site, or the numbers of visitors to our Site that come from different geographic areas) to third parties but this will not include information that can be used to identify you personally;
• allow carefully selected third parties, including other companies in our group, to contact you occasionally about products and services which may be of interest to you (where you have consented to us doing so). They may contact you by post, telephone or fax, as well as by e-mail. If you change your mind about being contacted by these companies in the future, please let us or them know.
• Finally, if our business enters into a joint venture with or is sold to or merged with another business entity, your information may be disclosed to our new business partners or owners. 

Countries outside the European Economic Area do not always have strong data protection laws. However, we will always take steps to ensure that your information is used by third parties in accordance with this policy. 

Unless required to do so by law, we will not otherwise share, sell or distribute any of the information you provide to us without your consent.