One in 10 train tickets wrong

MORE than 10 million train journeys are taken with incorrect tickets every year, the rail industry has admitted, as it pledged to end “jargon” on its machines and websites.

Confusing terminology caused one in 10 passengers to buy tickets for the wrong journey, meaning they would have either overpaid or faced fines for underpaying. However, from next month, jargon will be cut from tickets and journey information for half a million routes, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train firms, has announced.

Potentially misleading language such as “Route Direct” and “Any Permitted” are being removed or clarified, to make it easier for passengers to buy the correct ticket. They 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 valid to only one London station will state the destination rather than the existing “London Terminals”.

Some 145million tickets are bought from vending machines each year, around 9 per cent of which are incorrect for the journey being taken, the RDG said.

Changes to ticket wording are part of an ongoing effort by the rail industry to make fares easier to understand, including smart-ticketing and clarifying how peak and off-peak times work.

Meanwhile, the industry is consulting on a major overhaul of train fares which could see the end of advance fares and peak-time travel.

Jason Webb, the deputy managing director of customer portfolio at the RDG, said: “We know it can be confusing to buy a ticket on the train and that the outdated jargon unique to rail ... is part of the problem. We are making huge efforts as an industry to make this easier where we can, but to really make fares simpler to understand we need regulatory change.”

Anthony Smith, the chief executive of Transport Focus, the independent watchdog, said: “Rail passengers find fares and ticketing complex and confusing. 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. The current consultation will make sure passengers’ views are heard as the industry works to reform its complicated fares system.”