Millions of different train fares could be streamlined under quality review
passengers will be asked whether fares should be based on quality of service.
It is one of a number of concepts being consulted on by the rail industry as it develops proposals to overhaul rail ticketing.
Respondents must say whether they believe it should be cheaper to travel on routes with slower, less regular and more basic trains, with better services becoming more expensive.
Other possibilities included are abolishing peak and offpeak fares so passengers are charged the same throughout busier and quieter periods, giving discounts to regular travellers and reducing prices for e-tickets, but increasing them for paper tickets.
The consultation is being launched today by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the industry, alongside passenger watchdog Transport Focus.
They will use the responses to produce a report containing proposals for governments to consider.
Any measures will be designed to be revenue neutral, with no change in average fares and no extra support from taxpayers.
The ticketing system is underpinned by regulations unchanged from the mid1990s and have not kept pace with technology or how people work and travel.
Around 55 million different fares exist, including longstanding anomalies such as charging a peak-time fare when half a trip is on an offpeak service, and split ticketing, where it can be cheaper to buy several tickets for a single journey.
RDG chief executive Paul Plummer said he wants to create “an easier-to-use fares sys- tem”. Alex Hayman, managing director of public markets at consumer group Which?, said: “It’s been clear for years that rail fares are too complicated and confusing for passengers and all too often people don’t get the best fare for their journey.
“It’s a situation that’s gone on too long and the Government needs to make sure that any changes to the fares system are in the best interests of passengers.”