Train companies accused of ‘hiding secret tickets’ that could save you money

Train companies have been accused of hiding “secret” rail tickets that could save cost-conscious passengers money.

More than half of rail passengers have no idea that train operators can restrict certain fares, leaving them paying more than they need to for some train journeys.

Virgin Trains Ticketing said that a survey of rail travellers showed that many simply did not understand the complexity of Britain’s train ticketing system, which has more than 55 million individual fares available.

Together with the Independent Rail Retailers (IRR) trade association, the company claimed that more than 25 ticket types are not available for passengers to buy except through train companies themselves.

Overpaying

Consumers trying to shop around are left in the dark by this practice, they say - and are potentially overpaying when cheaper ticket options they do not know about are available.

The news comes after the number of season ticket sales dropped to historic lows in the first part of this year, suggesting British travellers are turning their backs on the railways as a cost-effective way of getting around the country.

With Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, promising to simplify train fares if the Labour Party wins July’s general election, the £10 billion ticketing market is poised for a radical shake-up.

Mark Plowright, director of Virgin Trains Ticketing, said: “There are more than 25 fare types not available for retailers to sell – which accounts for millions of tickets.

“It’s confusing for passengers, who then feel there are ‘secret’ fares they don’t know about or are not able to access easily.

“Consumers are left searching for the best value fare. No wonder they have lost trust in the system.”

One-third discount

A list compiled by the IRR and seen by The Telegraph shows that some ticket types are restricted to certain outlets only.

For example, the Groupsave promotion offered by 14 train companies including the operators of the Gatwick Express, Stansted Express, Thameslink and GWR, lets groups of between three and nine adults claim a one-third discount on their fares.

No travel card or other subscription is needed to claim the discount - but the lower-price tickets can only be bought directly from the train companies themselves, not from third parties.

Similarly, some train operators offer “own brand only” discounts to students, groups of young people and teachers.

Restricted ticket availability is a sore issue for the likes of Virgin Trains Ticketing because their business model relies on taking five per cent commission from each fare that they sell.

Train companies have an incentive to sell direct to travellers because then they can pocket the entire fare, instead of paying a portion of the ticket price to another company.

Although train ticket sellers say restricting tickets in this way is unfair, passenger rail industry sources point out that the vast majority of their fares are set centrally by the Department for Transport.

Train operators say this means they themselves do not control the price of their own product, leaving them looking for alternative ways of increasing their revenues to balance the books.

£4 billion in subsidies

Last year the Government handed just over £4 billion in subsidies to the UK’s 20 passenger train operators, with the entire rail industry absorbing £12 billion in public money.

Labour has pledged to nationalise passenger train companies if it wins the upcoming general election, as well as reviewing the number and type of tickets available.

The Conservatives have said they will keep the private sector involved in running trains, on the grounds that privatising the railways led to a massive surge in passenger numbers over the last 20 years.

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, the trade body for train operators, said: “Any customer no matter where they are can buy every ticket type on sale for use across the railway.

“A small number of ticket types are only on sale direct from a train company and in some cases, it may be cheaper to buy from them direct.

“We want to make things as simple as possible for our customers and have long called for the reform of ticketing and fares.

“Changes like the rollout of tap-in tap-out and digital ticketing are two examples of how we are making that happen. We welcome the innovation, choice, and competition that third-party retailers have brought for our customers.”