Director at Virgin Trains Ticketing reacts to train fare changes

Mark Plowright, Director at Virgin Trains Ticketing, has issued a statement reacting to this week’s train fare changes in London and the Southeast. The operators c2c, Chiltern, Southeastern, London Northwestern Railway and South Western Railway are all affected.

“We know there are too many train fares and ticket types in the UK – meaningful fare reform is long overdue.  However, when changes are made, train operating companies and the Rail Delivery Group need to let consumers and ticketing retailers know in advance.

“This week we saw travellers turned away from stations or forced to pay additional fees because their advance tickets were no longer valid – a result of the introduction of contactless payment (C-PAY) and changes to travel within London zones one to nine.

“It’s unacceptable that impacted passengers and retailers like Virgin Trains Ticketing, were not informed of this change in peak / off-peak restrictions. It’s a classic example of train operating companies making decisions about fares without involving retailers and its passengers – especially as it’s the passengers who bear the brunt.  A little bit of notice and communication doesn’t hurt anyone.

“What’s worse, some people, who bought tickets in advance, were asked to pay an additional fee on the day. This is completely wrong and shouldn’t have happened – they should receive a refund as their advance tickets were valid for travel.

“On the positive side, some of the changes will remove a swathe of ticket types and will see the off-peak single price reduce by around 50% and the Super Off-Peak fares will disappear.  This is good news as should bring some clarity to ticket prices but, in order to see the benefit of changes like these – which could increase rail ridership – the industry needs to work together and not treat passengers and ticket retailers as an after-thought.”