Labour plans discounted rail fares for 2025

[YorkRailFan]

SoS for Transport, Louise Haigh has said that advance and off peak tickets will be up to 50% in 2025:

A promotion offering discounted train tickets will be launched early next year, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh announced.

The Cabinet minister said passengers will be able to save up to 50% off the cost of Advance and off-peak fares, with more than a million cut-price tickets.

This will designed “to get Britain moving, to connect our communities and to give back to passengers, who for too long have paid more and more for less and less”, she said.

This was announced in Derby:

In a speech in Derby on Thursday, Ms Haigh said the train tickets sale will be among “exciting campaigns” designed to “urgently get passengers back on board”.

Train ticket promotion to launch in early 2025

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said passengers will be able to save up to 50% off the price of Advance and off-peak fares.

www.kentonline.co.uk

Whilst we don't know the full details yet, this sounds like a good idea. I'm imagining Grant Shapps in the "Great British Rail Sale" video, cringeworthy, but effective. I'm imagining Labour will take a more "grown up" approach to the marketing.

 

[Fermiboson]

Are GBRSs not a regular occurence anyways?

 

[yorksrob]

Certainly sounds good - particularly that off-peak tickets are included, not just advanced purchase. Hope it's available to all, not just some app/internet thing.

Proof of the pudding will be in the eating of course !

Given that LNER have abolished off-peak in their crooked fares trial, perhaps they should be forced to include their anytime fares in the scheme !?

 

[HSTEd]

Isn't a million tickets a rounding error?
It's about 0.25% of journeys.

 

[yorksrob]

Isn't a million tickets a rounding error?
It's about 0.25% of journeys.

Could be a reporting error.

Will have to see what the details are, but am quite optimistic !

 

[JonathanH]

Certainly sounds good - particularly that off-peak tickets are included, not just advanced purchase. Hope it's available to all, not just some app/internet thing.

Sounds the same as the usual offer, reduced advance purchase tickets where they exist and off-peak day tickets in the South East on the routes where it can't be done with advance tickets.

This is the sort of targeted offer in the quiet part of the year which is much more appropriate than a blanket all year reduction.

Offers in January and February are quite common because it coincides with when the off peak railway is at its quietest.

 

[yorksrob]

Sounds the same as the usual offer, reduced advance purchase tickets where they exist and off-peak day tickets in the South East on the routes where it can't be done with advance tickets.

I do hope not. I wasn't even aware that there were off-peak tickets included in the previous gimmicky offers.

Want an off-peak, booking office available offer for up here.

 

[davews]

These sort of offers in the past have been on a limited number of routes, didn't include my local station, and didn't offer any further reduction for railcards. And had to booked the day before. Some might have got a bargain, there was nothing I could make use of.

 

[yorksrob]

These sort of offers in the past have been on a limited number of routes, didn't include my local station, and didn't offer any further reduction for railcards. And had to booked the day before. Some might have got a bargain, there was nothing I could make use of.

Same here. The fact that off-peak fares are mentioned this time does make me feel a bit hopeful of something a bit different though.

But yes, consistent, competitive fares are needed, not gimmicky offers

 

[JonathanH]

But yes, consistent, competitive fares are needed, not gimmicky offers

Some would argue that the fares that lead to trains being full on a Summer Saturday morning are already at the level that passengers will pay (I won't say are happy to pay) and that 'gimmicky offers' are needed to fill those same trains in the winter.

No different to hotel rooms or other activities where the demand fluctuates through the year.

Some might have got a bargain, there was nothing I could make use of.

Exactly it, if the offer can tip the balance on someone making a discretionary journey in the winter months, or better still a group of people doing so, then that is revenue the railway wouldn't otherwise have got. However, it also needs to be careful that the reduction doesn't reduce the revenue that was coming its way anyway.

 

[yorksrob]

Some would argue that the fares that lead to trains being full on a Summer Saturday morning are already at the level that passengers will pay (I won't say are happy to pay) and that 'gimmicky offers' are needed to fill those same trains in the winter.

No different to hotel rooms or other activities where the demand fluctuates through the year.


Exactly it, if the offer can tip the balance on someone making a discretionary journey in the winter months, or better still a group of people doing so, then that is revenue the railway wouldn't otherwise have got. However, it also needs to be careful that the reduction doesn't reduce the revenue that was coming its way anyway.

They might do, but others would argue that the railways are a public service to enable the travelling public to get around without being fleeced.

 

[Mikey C]

Isn't a million tickets a rounding error?
It's about 0.25% of journeys.

And the rail companies regularly do similar offers. For example Greater Anglia are having a "Hare Fares" autumn promotion at the moment, on lots of off peak routes (and not advance tickets either).

 

[dk1]

And the rail companies regularly do similar offers. For example Greater Anglia are having a "Hare Fares" autumn promotion at the moment, on lots of off peak routes (and not advance tickets either).

And they are ridiculously popular.

 

[alistairlees]

This is just the Great British Rail Sale, as has happened in previous years. Same deal, same (small!) number of tickets, same discounts, etc. The sale will almost entirely be restricted to Advance tickets; it will only apply to Off-Peak tickets on a few routes.

 

[Halifaxlad]

I think it would be better creating rail cards for different age groups but cresting eligibilty rules such as people who earn under £10k or those without fixed contract job ect.

 

[A0]

I think it would be better creating rail cards for different age groups but cresting eligibilty rules such as people who earn under £10k or those without fixed contract job ect.

There already railcards for most age groups, plus disabled and unemployed.

Those on low incomes (such as the under £10k you cite) are far more likely to travel by bus as their journeys will usually be shorter i.e. very few will travel 20+ miles / >1 hour to a job paying £10k when there is likely to be a similar job locally, and have already benefitted from the bus fare cap.

 

[A0]

They might do, but others would argue that the railways are a public service to enable the travelling public to get around without being fleeced.

Equally, nor should the taxpayer be "fleeced", so arguably people should be covering the "real" cost of their travel and not be subsidised, yet curiously some around here think that should only apply to air passengers and motorists.......

 

[Mark J]

SoS for Transport, Louise Haigh has said that advance and off peak tickets will be up to 50% in 2025:

This was announced in Derby:

Train ticket promotion to launch in early 2025

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said passengers will be able to save up to 50% off the price of Advance and off-peak fares.

www.kentonline.co.uk

Whilst we don't know the full details yet, this sounds like a good idea. I'm imagining Grant Shapps in the "Great British Rail Sale" video, cringeworthy, but effective. I'm imagining Labour will take a more "grown up" approach to the marketing.

This year we had the GWR rail sale, followed by the Great British Rail sale a week after the GWR ended.

Hopefully will be the same again next year.

 

[Grecian 1998]

South West Trains used to regularly offer cheap fares on weekend trains between Waterloo and Exeter / Weymouth / Alton / Portsmouth during the quiet months about 10-15 years ago IIRC. They quickly took them away between Salisbury and Exeter on the West of England after this lead to massive overcrowding. A lot more trains were 3 coaches back then and it didn't take much to have mass standing for 2 hours + heading up to London (or at least as far Salisbury where more coaches could be added).

The offer was kept on the electric services where it was much easier for capacity to meet demand.

From that point of view, this sounds good in principle as long as capacity can meet demand effectively. XC for instance shouldn't really have cheaper advances other than on services booked for double Voyagers, or beyond the cores (Bristol / Reading / York), unless single Voyagers are consistently quiet on that route. XC are expensive but unless there's sufficient capacity, cheap tickets would make journeys through the core even more unpleasant than they usually are now.

That said, I travelled from Bristol to Blackpool over a weekend in January using XC, Avanti and Northern (out Saturday, back Sunday) and at no point was I in danger of having to share a double seat with anyone - nice quiet journeys all the way. So it's certainly a good time of year for it.