London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has introduced a groundbreaking Simpler Fares pilot scheme set to redefine the customer experience along the East Coast route.

The initiative focuses on providing a more straightforward ticketing system, making travel more accessible for UK-based business travellers.

The trial, covering select routes such as London King’s Cross to Newcastle, London to Berwick-upon-Tweed and London to Edinburgh, aims to simplify ticket purchasing and enhance flexibility.

Building on the success of the Single Leg Pricing across most of the LNER route, the Simpler Fares pilot offers customers the ability to mix and match fares with three straightforward options.

David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, emphasised the importance of simplifying fares to make rail travel more attractive. He stated,

This exciting new pilot is the next step in our plans to overhaul complicated and outdated ticketing options, and we look forward to hearing feedback from our customers.

Key Changes in Simpler Fares:

1. Advance (Fixed): The ‘best value’ fare, booked in advance for a fixed journey with a guaranteed reserved seat for travel with LNER.
2. ’70min Flex’ (Semi-Flexible): A new type of ticket offering customers the flexibility to travel on other LNER services, which can be 70 minutes before or after their originally booked journey.
3. Anytime (Fully-Flexible): This ticket can be used at any time of day.

Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak fares, representing only 11% of journeys included in the pilot, will be removed from 5 February, 2024.

LNER’s Managing Director, David Horne, expressed confidence that the changes, including pricing journeys more closely to demand, will make rail travel even more attractive. The introduction of a new semi-flexible ticket further adds modern flexibility to the fare structure. He said,

LNER remains at the forefront of rail reform. Simplifying fares is vital in making rail travel more attractive. Customers tell us they find fares confusing. 

This exciting new pilot is the next step in our plans to overhaul complicated and outdated ticketing options and we look forward to hearing feedback from our customers.

We believe that making fares simpler, smarter and fairer, while introducing value for money and modern flexibility, will encourage more people to choose to travel by rail, the most sustainable travel choice.

The pilot will run for two years and LNER will continue to collaborate with industry partners to understand how it is working for customers, also ensuring a wide range of affordable tickets are available.

The two-year pilot is designed to gather valuable customer feedback.

LNER will collaborate with industry partners to understand its impact, ensuring a wide range of affordable tickets remains available.

Rail Minister, Huw Merriman, commented,

We are delivering on our commitment to reform the railways, working with operators to provide passengers with simpler and more flexible tickets that better suit their needs.

Stewart Fox-Mills, Fares, Ticketing, and Retail Programme Director at GBRTT, applauded the initiative, stating,

This pilot will move the dial towards simpler and better fares for customers.

For further information on the Simpler Fares pilot scheme and how it can benefit your business travel, contact your Global Travel Account Manager.