Great British Rail: the case for tackling ticket price confusion

Strikes and disruption felled another British rail franchise this week. The government seized control of TransPennine Express — best described as a non-running joke — from operator UK-listed FirstGroup. Cue lamentations about the state of Britain’s railways, coupled with rose-tinted anecdotes of rail travel elsewhere in Europe. But are Britons right to believe that trains abroad are so much better than at home?

Britain’s railways are certainly in a parlous state. The network is, in effect, nationalised, and the private sector reduced to the role of an operating contractor. There is little to provide an incentive for improvements until a new state-owned body, Great British Railways, takes control next year.

Yet European railways are hardly devoid of problems themselves. Moreover, the idea that Britain has extortionately high ticket prices is not entirely accurate.

Consider Germany. National operator Deutsche Bahn is investing billions of euros to modernise its network and improve reliability which also tumbled over the pandemic. Some ticket prices are not hugely different to the UK’s. Indeed for a similar distance — equivalent to a trip from London to Sheffield — tickets were more expensive in some instances, according to official booking sites. Prices in France and Italy were not far off either, although those were for pricier high-speed journeys.

GBR has already promised to reform Britain’s Byzantine ticket pricing system. The current system inherited many quirks of the old nationalised system, such as off-peak return tickets only costing £1 extra, according to Mark Smith, who runs the travel site Seat 61. Prices set across multiple companies can also mean stark differences on similar routes.

A starker difference arises from the aggressive use of dynamic pricing strategies. Intercity tickets bought on the day cost much more than pre-booked ones and especially at peak times. This is likely to influence the view that prices in Britain are much higher.

It is unlikely that GBR would do away with this system. Despite being government-owned, it will be expected to earn its keep. Discriminatory pricing is, after all, designed to maximise revenue.

However, there is a chance to bring in transparency and uniformity across the network. That would give passengers confidence that they are getting the best price. It might even improve the public mood towards the industry.