RAIL fares in Scotland will be reduced by up to two-fifths on some journeys (41%) to tackle a decades-old anomaly that makes it cheaper to buy two tickets than a single fare.

More than 1500 "split ticketing" inconsist-encies will end thanks to a £2.28million grant from Transport Scot-land. It is said the move will ensure that end-to-end fares will be at least 50p cheaper than buying one ticket part of the way to a destination, and a second ticket to complete the journey.

More than a quarter of a million ScotRail journeys will be affected by the cut from May 19, around 0.3% of the 81million journeys in Scotland last year.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: "Due to historic pricing regimes in the franchise specification agreed in 2004, passengers had to navigate their way through a fares data-base to find the best deal.

"That's not what we want. We want a fares system which is quick and easy to use and which provides the cheapest fare possible. And that is what we and ScotRail are now delivering."

Dundee travellers will see some of the biggest changes, including fares to Portlethen, near Aberdeen, being cut by £11.30 (41%).

While the new deal will end split-ticketing on more popular journ-eys, it may still be poss-ible to find a cheaper deal by stringing to- gether several legs of a journey, or splitting less common fares, a Scot-Rail spokesman said.

But inconsistencies will remain in the Strathclyde area due to different off-peak restrictions, he added.

ScotRail managing director Steve Mont-gomery said: "Transport Scotland's welcome support means we have accelerated our efforts in this area.