Rail passengers who book tickets well in advance may end up paying four times
as much as those who wait until closer to the date, according to an
investigation that exposes how operators have adopted tactics used by budget
airlines to raise profits.
Britain’s five intercity train companies each claim that tickets are cheaper
for passengers the earlier they book, but Virgin and Great North Eastern
Railway (GNER) have been found to raise and lower prices repeatedly. This
makes it impossible for passengers to be sure that they have obtained the
cheapest fare.
The investigation by Which?, the consumer watchdog, found that a seat on a
Virgin train from London to Manchester cost £12.50 one way when booked 12
weeks in advance. When researchers checked five weeks later, the price of a
seat on the same train had risen to £60. Two weeks after that, five weeks
from the travel date, the price had dropped to £12.50. With one week to go,
the price was £20.
GNER’s fares fluctuated apparently at random, rising and falling between £20
and £40 for a one-way ticket from London to Newcastle upon Tyne.
A spokesman for Which? said: “We think that it’s confusing for passengers and
does little to inspire confidence in the companies’ own advice.”
A spokesman for Virgin said: “It’s a commercial world. You often get these
variations with airlines. If we have still got seats available because
anticipated demand hasn’t materialised, then yes, the price can be altered
downwards.” He said that Virgin offered 350,000 “Value Advance” discounted
tickets each week but an average of 70,000 went unsold.
GNER said that it sometimes lowered prices closer to the travel date because
of “unforeseen circumstances”, such as a large group of passengers
cancelling their tickets.
Which? said that passengers were confused by the 70 types of train fare
available and the 760 conditions of use.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of the rail customer watchdog Passenger Focus,
said: “Passengers tell us that they find the rail fares structure complex
and confusing.
“It is too often the case that passengers need to know the right questions to
ask in order to get the best deal, yet you can get a bargain if you know how to
hunt around. We have long been pressurising the industry to simplify the
fares structure and make it simpler for passengers to buy tickets.”
Which? also found that poor advice about fares meant that some rail passengers
were paying excessive prices for their tickets. Of 25 questions about
walk-on fares put to station staff and the National Rail Enquiries (NRES)
helpline, about half were answered correctly.
One ticket price given – for a single journey from London to Grantham in
Lincolnshire – was £44.50 when the passenger could have travelled for £20 on
a train leaving ten minutes earlier.
The price of another journey – from Southampton to Bristol and then on to
Birmingham later in the day – was quoted as £91 when it should have been £48.
Some of the most costly misinformation was given for journeys where season
tickets should have been recommended. Passengers making a return journey
between Swindon and Penzance twice in the same week could buy a Freedom of
the South West ticket for £70. But Which? said that both NRES and station
staff quoted £67 per journey, a total of £134.
The NRES website proved to be a much more reliable source of information,
answering all questions put to it correctly.
Linda, Albany NY - Railtrack was in charge of the infrastructure. They neither set the times nor the ticket prices. Network Rail is their successor.
Stan Marsh, london,
UK train companies are are a national disgrace. It is difficult to understand how ordinary working people can pay the ridiculous fares now demanded. My Daughter booked a single ticket from Kings Cross to Leeds for £20 (reasonably priced). She booked in advance and nominated the time of the train she would take. She was travelling home from France after a short stay at my home there. SHe allowed plenty of time to travel between the airport and Kings Cross but unfortunately her plane was delayed by 2 hours and she was 20 minutes late for her nominated train. It was the middle of the day so no rush hour commuters. She explained the position and showed her flight ticket and boarding card as proof that her situation was genuine. She was told that if she wanted to travel on any other train that day she would be charged a further £75 for a standard single fare. A total therefore of £95. I find this lack of discretion from GNER very disappointing and a very poor attitude to customer care.
BARBARA WILLIAMS, FRANCE,
Two useful tips for cheaper fares.
1. If your local rail company has its own web-site, use that rather than NRES. GWR's firstminutefares.com has fares that don't appear on the NRES site - and is better laid out.
2. Check other stations around you. Chippenham (10 miles) to Paddington is £105 return - Pewsey to Paddington (14 miles and cheaper parking) is £26 return for same time train.
John Newbury, Calne, UK
A regulated monopoly, which is effectively what the rail companies are in their domain, should have regulated and transparent fares. But as this would be 'only' in the consumers' interest, it is very unlikely to happen.
Rolandn Mahoney, London,
Trains are ridiculously priced - my brother and I went to Nottingham from Crawley a few weekends ago and it cost us £100!!! I'm a student at university in London whereas my brother is a sixth form student. When we tried to get off at another train station we were forced to pay an additional £5 even though our tickets clearly stated "any route permitted"!!!
To add insult to (financial) injury, the TFL worker then let a man who was quite clearly an adult go through on a child ticket - the man was covered in tattoos and when my brother asked the lady how old you had to be to obtain a child ticket, she answered 15. My brother then said to her that quite obviously, the man wasn't 15 or under to which she replied that those on income support can buy child tickets to travel on and they carry cards which she quite clearly didn't check for!!
So basically, dress like a vagrant and buy child tickets and no one will bat an eyelid!
SK, London,
I was in England 7 years ago and found Railtrack (sadly no more) most helpful in scheduling and ticket prices. The only problem was the tendency for lines to go east-west when I wanted to go north or south. But in NY travel by rail is much less convenient, so I wasn't about to grumble.
Linda, Albany NY,