Moves to simplify wording of tickets

Jargon will be removed from tickets and journey information for half a million train routes next month.

Unnecessary or potentially misleading language such as “Route Direct” and “Any Permitted” is being removed or clarified to make it easier for passengers to buy the correct ticket, industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said.

The phrases 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 on the route or the service passes through a major station.

Tickets which are only valid to one station in London will give the destination rather than the existing “London Terminals”.

If a passenger is entitled to travel via multiple routes, the acceptable itineraries will be available on the National Rail website.

The measures are part of the industry’s aim to eliminate 1.6 million pieces of jargon within the next two years.

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

A recent study commissioned by the RDG found more than one-in-five (22%) passengers do not think it is easy to understand what type of ticket they need to buy for their journey, and 34% do not believe they are always getting the best deal available.

Changes to ticket wording are part of steps being taken by the industry to simplify fares, including the roll-out of smart ticketing, clearer information on peak and off-peak times and how people can use their ticket.

The RDG warned that regulations dating back several decades will need to be brought up to date if fare structures and ticketing systems are to suit the way people work and travel today.

It is carrying out a consultation with watchdog Transport Focus to “find out what passengers want” from efforts to reform the system.

Jason Webb, a deputy managing director at the RDG, said: “We know it can be confusing to buy a ticket on the train and that outdated jargon unique to rail like ‘London Terminals’ or ‘Any Permitted’ is part of the problem.”