Arriving from tomorrow: 130% fare increases on LNER

Tomorrow, Monday 5^th February, LNER change their fare model for three journeys – to and from London Kings Cross to Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed, and Edinburgh Waverley. Under their new model, the only ticket that is guaranteed to be available is the fully flexible (anytime) single – the most expensive ticket. The cheaper, flexible, ‘Super Off-Peak’ ticket, valid for most of the day (and all day Friday to Sunday) is abolished.

The new ticket is the ‘Semi Flexible – which LNER describes as ‘Any valid LNER train, up to 70 mins before or after your booked journey’ (although they haven’t said what valid means). Like Advance tickets, this is a quota controlled ticket – ie there are a limited number of them for each service.

Railfuture looked at available fares at lunchtime today (Sunday 4 February) and confirmed that there are some services with a 130% fare increase compared to the same service last week. This is because LNER have ‘sold out’ of their cheap, limited availability services for these services. Our samples include:

• Newcastle departures to Kings Cross on Tuesday 6 February at 08:28, 08:58, 09:30 & 10:00
• Edinburgh departures to Kings Cross on Tuesday 6 February at 07:00, 07:30, 08:00 & 08:30
• The Berwick-upon-Tweed departure to Kings Cross on Tuesday 6 February at 09:48

Responding to tomorrow’s start of these new fares, Neil Middleton, Railfuture Director, commented:

“The removal of the Super Off Peak ticket is an awful move. Just the possibility or having to pay over £192 for a railway ticket to travel between Kings Cross and Newcastle is enough to put you off travelling by train, possibly forever.
“Yes, it is quite possible to travel for a lot less, but if you need to travel unexpectedly or travel plans change, these are eye watering prices to pay. I think they are well beyond tolerable for most people's wallets and indeed most company’s expense claims.

“But let’s be clear – I do like the new semi flexible ticket – being able to vary my travel time by up to 70 minutes before or after is a real plus – the time a meeting, a meal and much more will end is often uncertain and that flexibility is a real benefit. But there is a big “but” – that the ticket may not be available when I want to travel.

“The walk up railway is such a crucial element of the service – to always be able to turn up and travel. And this must be at a sensible price at times of the day that can reliably be predicted in advance. And that is what the Super Off-Peak fare was – price certainty.

“Railfuture calls upon LNER to reinstate the Super Off-Peak fare immediately – but to then continue the rest of the trial to understand how much it will be used.”

Jane Ann Liston from Railfuture Scotland went on to comment:

“These changes are very disappointing for Scottish passengers. It removes several options, and the remaining ones will not necessarily be cheaper or convenient. Far from making travel easier the new 'semi-flexible' tickets are more likely to make long journeys from Scotland more difficult, actually with less flexibility than previously."

Neil concluded by commenting:

“Yes, there are workarounds – eg rather than selecting Newcastle Central as your start or end point, choose Manors (which is just under a mile away), and it is still possible to buy a Super Off-Peak ticket, but those planning to travel really shouldn’t have to know this.

“And, just to rub salt in the wound, the new semi-flexible ticket isn’t widely available – I’ve just looked on the Thameslink website and it isn’t available at all. Trainline does sell them, but it isn’t always clear – they prioritise the savings from offering split fares. Whilst we don’t like booking fees, we do think split fares are usually the best option when available.”

[Notes to editors:]
Note 1: LNER’s Semi Flexible Ticket description: www.lner.co.uk/tickets-savings/semi-flexible/
Note 2:

• Screen shots of fares offered www.railfuture.org.uk/display3596
• Fares searches used: Edinburgh to Kings Cross | Berwick-upon-Tweed to Kings Cross | Newcastle to Kings Cross: LNER website / Trainline / Thameslink website
• All fares from Newcastle to Kings Cross (from www.brfares.com): 4 February | 5 February

Note 3: Lowest cost always available fares on LNER:

Kings Cross to/from > Until today (time restricted) > From 5 Feb > Percent increase
Newcastle > £83.80 > £192.80 > 130%
Berwick-upon-Tweed > £88.10 > £193.90 > 120%
Edinburgh > £87.00 > £193.90 > 123%

LNER Super Off-Peak restriction in summary: Not valid for Kings Cross departures Mon-Thu after 02:59 and before 09:06 and after 14:59 and before 18:59, nor for Kings Cross arrivals Mon-Thu after 04:29 and before 11:17 – extract from brfares.com (reporting National Rail data).

Note 4: Neil leads on ticketing and fares for Railfuture.
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Website article on fares reform: www.railfuture.org.uk/article1884-Fares-after-Covid
Railfuture is the UK's leading independent organisation campaigning for better rail services for both passengers and freight.
Railfuture's website can be found at: www.railfuture.org.uk
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For further information and comment please contact:
Bruce Williamson, media spokesperson
Tel: 0117 927 2954 Mobile: 07759 557389
media@railfuture.org.uk
Neil Middleton, Director
Mobile: 07887 628367
neil.middleton@railfuture.org.uk