Rail users lose out on savings worth £4.5m

BRITISH train passengers will miss out on savings worth £4.5million this summer because they failed to pre-book tickets, booking website Trainline has said.

Fergus Weldon, director of data science at Trainline, admitted that people who failed to book in advance risked missing out on holidays and trips because of the high cost of last minute tickets.

Analysis of rail tickets by The Daily Telegraph found passengers booking two weeks in advance could expect to pay around seven times more to travel by train than by megabus.

Return tickets from London to Newcastle are available for more than £100, rising to £475 for the most expensive tickets.

Mr Weldon said: “Waiting until the eleventh hour is costing Brits millions and often means missing out on important events and social engagements, with some even missing out on the break entirely.

“While spontaneity has its advantages, planning ahead could go a long way when it comes to savings this summer.” Visitengland figures show that Britons took 47.2 million holidays in England last year, up six per cent from 2016. A total of £4.5 million could have been saved by passengers who did not buy cheaper Advance fares for journeys taking place between July 23 and Aug 31 last year, Trainline found.

Londoners were worst hit by not taking advantage of savings worth £1.5 million.

A poll of 2,000 adults commissioned by Trainline found that a quarter of people book travel for UK breaks less than a week in advance, with one in 10 leaving it until the day of departure.