Virgin has scrapped a loophole that allowed railcard users to buy cheap West Coast train tickets in a move which that will result in at least one fare rising from £54 to £217. Others will triple in price.
The company has said on bookings made after 6 September, railcard users will no longer be able to purchase off-peak tickets for use on peak-time trains – as they have been able to, until now.
The move, which brings Virgin West Coast in line with the rest of the rail industry, will particularly hit those who used to rely on the cheaper tickets to travel in and out of London. It’s also the third stealth fare increase by Virgin in six months.
An anytime return between London and Manchester currently costs £329, but the journey has been available to railcard holders at £53.85. In future, railcard users will get just a third off the full price, meaning the passenger will pay £217 – four times the previous price for the same journey.
The little-publicised move will affect all railcard holders, and will be a huge blow to those who have grown used to taking advantage of the offer. It will mean they will have to pre-book cheaper advanced fares several weeks prior to travel if they want an affordable fare.
One reader contacted the Guardian this week to say her daughter’s daily return from Nuneaton to London is set to rise from £28 to more than £97.
“She commutes every week day and uses a 16-25 railcard to reduce her ticket costs. She takes the 7:08 from Nuneaton to Euston and returns on the 17:10 and pays £28.10 a day. After the change she will be paying £97 a day – and will make such a significant difference in the cost of her travel that she simply will no longer be able to travel to London for her work. She may have to give up her job,” she said.
David Sidebottom, Transport Focus’s passenger director warned Virgin needs to contact affected passengers and communicate the changes clearly to avoid unpleasant surprises at the ticket machine.
“Passengers tell us that getting better value for money is one of their top priorities and currently 40% of passengers on this route say they are unhappy with the value for money of their ticket. We can only expect that to rise as a result of this move.”
Virgin said: “We are the only train operator to offer this double discount where customers can use discounted, off-peak tickets on peak-time trains. Customers who book tickets before 6 September can still travel using the double discount after the new rules come in. Normal railcard discounts on peak and off-peak tickets are unaffected and there are still many great deals available, particularly with some planning and flexibility.”
In recent months the company has pushed through three price increases by changing the ticketing structure. On 17 May the anytime return between Stafford and Liverpool, travelling on Virgin Trains, jumped from £26.50 to £33 (up 24.5%), and an anytime first-class day return on Virgin from Manchester to Stoke rose from £29 to £35.30 (up 22%).
In June, Virgin East Coast was accused of imposing a near 100% fare rise “through the back door” after pulling many of its cheapest advance fares on popular routes.
One customer, who lives near Darlington in County Durham and travels each Friday to work in London, said the cost of a single fare had jumped from a reasonable £14.50 for a single to a minimum of £27.45, because the cheapest fares were no longer offered.
