Chiltern Railways has become the first rail company to ‘respond to calls by rail passengers and Government’ that train fares are too complex with a ‘dramatic restructuring and simplification of their fares’.
The changes have been introduced for the launch of their new Mainline service between Birmingham and London in September and aligns with the recent McNulty recommendations.
The company has borrowed from well established practices in the retail sector and deliberately chosen price points that passengers will be able to remember – and applied them to an entire region.
‘Standing out amid the complexity of ticketing from other operators’ will be three, memorable price points for all its key West Midlands stations to London that includes a price cut of £10 for the most flexible ticket.
The new, on the day, return fares between Birmingham and London will be as follows:
- £75 Any train, any day
- £50 Any train, any day except trains arriving in London during the morning peak period
- £25 Any train, any day except trains arriving in London during the morning peak period or leaving London during the afternoon peak period.
These fares will apply from all Chiltern’s West Midlands stations from Birmingham Moor Street via Solihull through to Warwick Parkway.
Passengers will no longer need to remember different prices if they sometimes use different stations and the add-on for a London travelcard (covering the tube) will always be £5, instead of varying by ticket type as it does today.
The cheapest £25 return ticket will now be valid for more of the day than ever before, an additional 1.5 hours London bound and an additional 5.5 hours towards Birmingham.
Passengers will be able to travel on any train arriving into London after 11:30 and those travelling north will just need to avoid the 4pm to 7pm peak on weekdays.
As part of this new approach, Chiltern have cut the peak fare from most stations from £85 to £75.
This follows criticism of train companies that the steep fall in train pricing after the end of the evening peak encourages overcrowding and that peak fares are too high.
Chiltern’s peak fare will now be ‘virtually half that of the Virgin route into Euston’ – coupled with fastest trains having near equivalent journey times; just 90 minutes from Birmingham and 1hr 10 minutes from Warwick Parkway.
Thomas Ableman, Director at Chiltern Railways, commented:
“Passengers tell us they want fast trains, free wifi and a simple pricing structure that they can understand. We’ve developed Chiltern Mainline to deliver all of these things.
“We believe that customers shouldn’t be held to ransom by extortionate walk up fares or held captive in stations with an endless wait until the ever-extending evening peak is over. Our new fares are a commitment to customers to avoid unnecessary complexity and make it easier for them to travel.”
Advance tickets will still be available, but Chiltern will not be promoting them as heavily in the future.
