Shapps hails “unprecedented’ success of Great British Rail Sale

Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapp has hailed the Great British Rail Sale as “unprecedented in its scale, and equally unprecedented in its success”, but has given no hint as to whether the outcome has changed the Government’s mind about existing fares and future increases.

The month-long offer featured the sale of 1.3 million half-price off-peak single tickets across train operators in England (RAIL 956).

Shapps said: “The whole rail family has come together to help passengers facing rising costs of living, by saving hard working people millions on their journeys across Britain.”

Former transport minister Norman Baker, now of the Campaign for Better Transport, responded: “Here are 1.3 million reasons why the Treasury needs to cut rail fares to get more people on trains and 1.3 million reasons why there should not be a rise, based on RPI [Retail Prices Index], imposed on passengers this summer.”

The sale was aimed mainly at leisure travel. The Department for Transport said the average price of tickets was around £7.50 during the sale, and that the most popular routes were NewcastleYork, London-Nottingham, OxfordLondon Paddington, LondonSheffield, and Cambridge-London.

Rail Delivery Group CEO Jacqueline Starr said: “Customers planning to travel by train this summer can still make great savings on their next journey by booking in advance, travelling off-peak, or with a Railcard that provides one-third off most fares.”

While detailed figures are not being released, the DfT’s announcement of the results approached hyperbole. It said that the total tickets sold “would cover a ticket journey to the Sun 128,250,000 miles - boldly going where no train has gone before”.

It added that “the sale saved passengers over £7 million (or 15,000 years’ worth of takeaways, based on the average annual spend on takeaways of £450)”.