Major intercity rail operator to scrap return tickets TOMORROW – it could make trips cheaper
A MAJOR inter-city rail operator will start scrapping the sale of return tickets from tomorrow.
LNER, which operates services on the East Coast Mainline between England and Scotland will scrap return fares from Sunday, May 14.
The change will mean that two single tickets will cost roughly equal to one return.
The move is intended to offer customers more flexibility and cheaper tickets.
It will mean that LNER passengers will no longer be able to buy return tickets for travel from June 11.
The change has been driven after the rail operator began a trial which provided travellers with single pricing in 2020 for trips between London King’s Cross and Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
At the moment, Britain’s rail ticketing system means that the average return fare costs just £1 more than a single fare.
This means that passengers can’t really make a major saving if they opt between the two ticket types.
Before LNER introduced its trial on single-leg ticketing back in 2020 a single ticket super off-peak ticket between London and Edinburgh cost £146.40.
But a super off-peak return fare cost £1 more at £147.40.
When the single-leg trial was introduced in 2020, the same single fare dropped to £73.70 – almost half the price of the single ticket under the outdated fare system.
From Sunday, May 14, customers will be able to purchase the following single fares under the new system:
- Anytime single
- Off-peak single
- Super off-peak single
- Advance single
Customers can purchase tickets directly on the LNER website, at a station or via third-party sites such as Trainline – though these usually charge a fee.
The boss of LNER, David Horne said: “The expansion of single-leg pricing will mean almost all of our customers will benefit from simpler fares and have the power to mix and match to get the best value fares.
“We believe that making fares simpler, smarter and fairer will encourage more people to choose rail, making a green and sustainable travel choice.
“Alongside our successful innovations from our legendary customer service to our industry-leading digital products, LNER remains at the forefront of transforming rail.”
LNER serves over 50 stations along the East Coast Mainline and has been operating the InterCity East Coast franchise since June 2018.
The train operating company was established by the Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort after Virgin Trains East Coast’s contract was terminated early.
LNER’s ticketing reform comes after Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, gave the green light for firms to scrap return tickets back in February.
The InterCity East Coast franchise is the first to do this and it’s expected that other operators will follow suit in the near future.
How else can I cut the cost of train tickets?
If you’re taking a lengthy train journey then you could save hundreds of pounds by splitting your tickets.
You won’t need to change trains and National Rail lets you split your ticket as long as the train calls at the station you buy the tickets for.
One site that works this out for you is Splitticketing.co.uk.
Regular travellers should be able to save by purchasing either a seven day, monthly or annual season ticket, which will allow them to make the journey an unlimited number of times as long as it’s valid.
If you’re making the same journey on three or more days a week, then a seven-day season ticket is likely to save you money, compared to buying a new one every day.
You can check to see if a season ticket will save you money on your trip with National Rail’s season ticket calculator.
Network Rail releases its timetable 12 weeks in advance, so ticket firms usually make their fares available at this time.
Just like plane tickets, the earlier you book the lower the price you’ll pay for your seat.
You can sign up to the Trainline’s ticket alert service and it will tell you when cheap advance tickets go on sale for a particular journey.
Also, the National Rail’s future travel chart shows the furthest advance date that you can buy tickets.
If you’re a regular traveller then a railcard should shave a third off the price of your ticket.
Just make sure you’ll make more in savings over a year than the price of the Railcard.
See Railcard.co.uk for more information.
Booking directly through the train company you’re travelling with could save you a bit of cash.
While it may only be a couple of quid each time – which usually counts towards a booking fee on sites like Trainline – it will add up if you travel a lot.
Look up the trains on other websites first and then head to the company to book the train direct.