‘Simpler fares’ trial leaves passengers on one of UK’s busiest train lines with tickets costing £100 more
A NEW “simpler fares” trial has left passengers on one of Britain’s busiest train lines with tickets costing over £100 more than before.
The two-year experiment, conducted by the government-run London North Eastern Railway (LNER), promises easier ticketing but has instead hit travellers’ wallets hard.
Campaign group Railfuture slammed the scheme as “awful” while train travel website Seat61.com claimed it was designed to “allow big price increases”.
The price hike was revealed by PA news agency analysis of the tickets sold by LNER for travel on the East Coast Mainline.
The trial has seen the cheapest day-of-travel tickets for routes like London King’s Cross to Edinburgh jump from £87 to £193.90 due to the elimination of Super Off-Peak fares.
Similar rises were found for journeys between London King’s Cross and both Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed.
An LNER spokesman said: “Since the pilot launched, the majority of customers who have bought Advance tickets have paid less than the old Super Off-Peak fare.
“There will, from time to time, be traditionally classified ‘Off-Peak trains’ where Advance tickets have sold out and a more expensive Anytime ticket is the only option on popular services.”
The operator also said it will continue to monitor and make adjustments so that “as many people as possible can access the right ticket at the right price for them.”
A Department for Transport spokesman insisted the trial is part of a long-standing commitment to “simplify complicated ticketing” adding: “Through this, the majority of passengers on these routes will find fares to be the same or cheaper than the old Super Off-Peak fare.”