Tickets please

Rail ticket pricing is confusing but it's not always the fault of the train operators. Now the government has a plan to bring clarity

- ALEX MCWHIRTER

Imagine how surprised some Manchester-bound travellers were earlier this year when they arrived at London Euston. The time was just after lunch. Normally this is a period for off-peak fares on the rail network. Savvy travellers would expect the peak travel period and most expensive fares to apply between 1600 and 1900.

But because Avanti West was operating a restricted timetable (because of the pandemic) the last off-peak train departed at 1435. It meant those 'walk up' travellers on the 1520 service (normally the last London-Manchester off-peak train of the afternoon) now had to make a decision. Did they hang around for several hours until the next off-peak train in the evening or did they pay for an expensive ticket and travel on the 1520?

Flexible London-Manchester fares can be extremely costly even for a one-way journey in peak time. For example a peak return ticket London-Manchester costs £369.40 compared to £98.10 for off-peak. Both tickets are flexible and available to 'walk-up' travellers. Such illogical pricing used to exist in the airline business before low-cost carriers appeared on the scene.

UNFAIR FARES