Rail passengers travelling from London Euston to Manchester and Birmingham will soon be able to print their own tickets.

Virgin Trains launches a trial next Monday in which passengers buying advanced purchase single tickets will be able to buy and print them from the company’s website. The tickets cost £7 or £9 single, are only available online and are non-exchangeable and non-refundable. There is limited avilabaility at these prices.

The trial is part of a self-ticketing initiative from thetrainline, called Print@Home. Midland Mainline and one have already started selling tickets through the system. Passengers print out the booking on a home or office printer. The paper booking can then be validated by station and on-board staff when travelling. The routes covered by the existing trial are between London St Pancras, Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield with Midland Mainline and London Liverpool Street and Cambridge with One.

Mark Furlong, TheTrainline’s commercial director, says: “e-ticketing is part of our commitment towards innovative retailing and ticket solutions that meet the needs of both customers and industry...Print@Home is just the first element of our e-ticketing strategy which will eventually see customers receiving a booking reference number, or barcode, via SMS to their mobile for on-board validation by a train manager.”