New rail rules will make purchasing tickets simpler for thousands of passengers from next week as plans to scrap confusing ticket terms kick in.
The Rail Delivery Group - which represents the rail industry - said jargon will be slashed on over 100,000 routes on 11 August, making it easier for passengers to buy and use the right ticket.
This will include removing ambiguous terms such as ‘Any Permitted’, and replacing it with a clearer description of the exact route the journey relates to.
The move will mean that over the past two years, jargon has been cut from over 1.1 million routes, the Rail Delivery Group said.
Efforts to make language clearer also include replacing grouped stations such as ‘London Terminals’ with specific station names.
This will not alter the validity of the ticket but help people understand exactly what services they can use their ticket on.
If valid across multiple stations, ‘London Terminals’ will be retained and the information will be provided on the National Rail website.
Jacqueline Starr, at the Rail Delivery Group, said: "The rail industry’s work to slash jargon is making ticket buying easier, but real simplification requires big regulatory reform of the fares system. Like our passengers, we want fares to be easier-to-use, more flexible and better value. With the Williams Rail Review looking at this closely, now is the time to bring outdated fares regulation in line with how people work and travel today.”
The industry’s proposals to mix-and-match different types of single tickets based on a ‘single-leg’ structure would enable customers to choose the most appropriate ticket for each leg of their journey, mixing-and-matching different types of single tickets and making changing travel plans easier.
