Rail tickets: Train firms call for ‘easier fares for all’

Train operators urge reform to fill empty seats, reduce overcrowding and eliminate anomalies

“Easier Fares for All”: that is the call from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), representing train operators and Network Rail.

The group want “tap-in, tap-out” pay-as-you-go systems with built-in fare caps, similar to London’s Oyster card, rolled out across the country.

“Commuters that currently buy weekly season tickets could save money when they travel fewer than five days a week or are able to travel off peak,” says the RDG.

“The proposals are built with a simple proposition at their core: that customers only pay for what they need and are always charged the best-value fare.”

On long-distance routes, the present unwieldy system whereby a return off-peak ticket costs only £1 more than a single would be replaced by a structure based on one-way fares, “so that customers are able to choose the most appropriate ticket for each leg of their journey”.

“Train companies will be able to create discounted, premium, train-specific and personalised variations of these fares, for example, charging less at quieter periods, more for first class, less for reduced flexibility, and so on.

“This ensures that fares are priced appropriately to market and are not simply the sum of their parts.”

A key target is to remove the overcrowding caused by “cliff-edge” pricing in the mornings and evenings to and from the capital.

The lowest ”walk-up fare” for the 6.30pm train from London Paddington to Swindon is £69, but passengers prepared to wait seven minutes can use an off-peak tickets and save £30. Unsurprisingly, the 6.37pm is extremely crowded.

Such problems were “baked in” at the time of rail privatisation in the mid-1990s with the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. Since then, further layers of regulation have been added through individual franchise agreements.

The RDG says that under its proposals “many people would pay less, particularly on long-distance routes”, but concedes: “Some people would see what they pay increase slightly, potentially at the edge of current peak time restrictions.”

After carrying out the biggest-ever rail fares consultation, the RDG says there is overwhelming support for overhauling the fares system, extending smart or electronic tickets and adjusting prices to fill empty seats.

Its proposals are intended to be “revenue neutral” – meaning no change in average fares or taxpayer support.

Given the prospect for many passengers to pay less than they do currently, a large number of extra trips would need to be made to make up the shortfall and maintain fares income at £10bn annually.

The RDG claims one-third of non-rail users are put off travelling by train due to complexity in the fares system, and says: “Independent analysis indicates that taken together, making fares easier in the way set out would encourage over 300 million more journeys.”

An increasing number of rail passengers exploit anomalies in the fares system to save cash by “splitting tickets” – more precisely splitting a journey into two segments.

For example, on the mid-morning train from Manchester to Edinburgh, buying one ticket to Preston and a second from there to the Scottish capital saves 38 per cent on the “walk-up” fare.

As technology makes it easier for passengers to identify possible savings from such inconsistencies, this perfectly legal practice is eating into rail revenue.

Paul Plummer, chief executive of the RDG, said: “Rail companies are already working together on plans for real world trials so people can see what our proposals could mean for them.

“However, current regulation needs to be updated and we want to work with government, who are key to making improvements a reality, to deliver the better fares system the public wants to see.”

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the passenger watchdog Transport Focus, said: “Passengers want to see root and branch reform to the outdated and outmoded fares and ticketing system.”

The Campaign for Better Transport’s chief executive, Darren Shirley, said: “The fares and ticketing system is broken and desperately needs fixing, so we welcome these proposals.”

The Rail Delivery Group describes its proposals as the industry’s first contribution to the Williams Review – set up by the government “to recommend the most appropriate organisational and commercial frameworks to support the delivery of the government’s vision for the railway”.

It is led by Keith Williams, the former chairman and chief executive of British Airways.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “RDG’s contribution to the Williams Review is welcome. In the short term, we are ready to work with the industry on how their proposals might work and be tested in the real world.”

The announcement comes after a dismal Sunday on the UK’s two leading long-distance lines. The East Coast main line was closed for hours because of a fault with the signalling system at Retford, causing cancellations or heavy delays for dozens of trains between London, Yorkshire and Scotland.

On the West Coast main line, overrunning engineering work between Rugby and Nuneaton caused delays.