Train passengers enjoy cheaper tickets thanks to public ownership
Rail passengers in the North of England will benefit from cheaper fares thanks to the availability of advance tickets across publicly owned train operators.
The government announced on Thursday, 24 July that the publicly owned train operators LNER, TransPennine Express, and Northern, have launched a joint initiative with Network Rail to make fares cheaper on routes that require an interchange between these operators.
This advance fare scheme will give more options to rail passengers travelling across the North of England, making advanced fares available across the whole route at the same time and generating an additional £200,000 in revenue for the railway by encouraging more people to travel by train.
It builds on a pilot scheme launched in June 2024 that aimed to improve options and offer cheaper fares for passengers travelling between Leeds and Manchester. The scheme used mobile network data to determine instances where rail adoption was low due to a lack of clear ticket options or simple unified fares for passengers looking to book a trip in advance.
Since the original trial, and continuing to use mobile network data to inform areas where intervention is needed, the publicly-owned train operators and Network Rail identified further underperforming travel flows and introduced more affordable fares to encourage more people to choose to travel by train.
The government said that it will continue to leverage the benefits of public ownership to deliver positive changes for passengers, especially as it leads up to the creation of Great British Railways, the upcoming state-owned railway company that is planned to operate most rail infrastructure in Great Britain.
“This is exactly the type of collaborative work public ownership enables, allowing us to put passengers first by making train travel simpler and more affordable,” said Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy.
“Through these cheaper fares we’re opening up more options to people travelling across the North, putting more money in working people’s pockets and boosting connectivity and growth as part of our Plan for Change.”
