Derailed, the train jargon that no one understands

BAFFLING jargon will be banished from train tickets for half a million routes next month.

Phrases such as ‘Route Direct’ and ‘Any Permitted’ are being removed or clarified to make it easier to buy the correct ticket.

The jargon will be replaced with a blank space if a journey follows a direct route, or with ‘Via...’ specifying a station if there is a change, or the service passes through a major station.

Tickets only valid to one station in London will give the destination rather than the existing ‘London Terminals’. And if a passenger is entitled to travel via multiple routes, the accepted options will be available on the National Rail website.

The latest changes mean 14,000 uses of ‘Route Direct’ and more than 670,000 uses of ‘Any Permitted’ will have been removed since February last year.

The measures are being overseen by the Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators and the infrastructure manager Network Rail.

The changes are part of the industry’s aim to eliminate 1.6million pieces of jargon in the booking system and on tickets in the next two years. A recent RDG study found that one in five passengers do not think it is easy to understand what type of ticket they need, and a third do not believe they always get the best deal.

The changes come as the industry attempts to simplify fares, including clearer information on peak and off-peak times. The RDG is now carrying out a consultation with watchdog Transport Focus to find out what passengers want from reforms.

Anthony Smith of Transport Focus said: ‘Action to remove jargon is a significant step towards a fares system that passengers find easy to use.

‘However, over the longer term some more fundamental reforms are still needed if train companies are ever going to enjoy the trust of the travelling public.’