Return train tickets could be scrapped in major travel shakeup, this is how it could affect you

Return train tickets could be scrapped in digital ticketing reforms announced later this week. The move will mean that return tickets, which are often offered at a discount, would be replaced by two singles at the same price.

The reforms follow a trial by LNER in 2020, which experimented with getting rid of return tickets on the railways. If the plan is confirmed, it could also spell the end for paper tickets as QR codes become the norm.

‘Great British Railways’

The reforms are expected to be announced in a speech on Tuesday by Transport Secretary Mark Harper where he will outline plans for 'Great British Railways'(GBR). This will be a new public body which will absorb state-owned Network Rail and control the way train services,tickets and timetabling are operated.

One of the key changes is expected to be the scrapping of return tickets in favour of two singles in order to simplify the rail ticketing system. Additional plans could include more digital ticketing like QR codes with the potential for smartcards like London’s Oyster Card.

The GBR boyd was a policy first suggested by former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps who described it as, according to The Guardian:

a guiding mind, bringing together Network Rail and train operators, issuing better contracts, with sensible fares and ticketing, putting passengers first and independent of government micromanagement.

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Railway strikes

The announcement comes at a time when the government is under much scrutiny for its failure to find a resolution for the ongoing strikes over the last six months. Industrial action has brought much of the transport network to a halt leaving many commuters disgruntled and it is not clear if these reforms will help the issue.

The rail network has been struggling as inflation and reduced demand during the pandemics has resulted in operators left with a £2bn revenue shortfall.

The huge decline in ticket revenue has almost finished franchising and instead, emergency contracts for train operators have kept the industry going but GBR is hoped to provide a more long-term solution.

The body was due to begin operating in early 2024 but that is likely to have changed now after Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan told MPs in October that the Government had scrapped plans to introduce a Transport Bill because the energy crisis was being prioritised.

It is hoped that the reform will fix problems identified in the initial review including an over complicated fare structure, fragmented industry, high costs, and the objectives of Network Rail and operators being opposed rather than unified, as per The Mirror.

Sources used:

- The Guardian 'Return train tickets expected to be scrapped in UK rail shake-up'

- The Guardian '‘Great British Railways is dead’: rail industry at lowest ebb since the days of Railtrack'

- The Mirror 'Return train tickets could be SCRAPPED forcing Brits to buy two singles for every trip'