Virgin Trains abandons afternoon off-peak ticket restrictions on Fridays

In a move that signals a more rational approach to rail fares, Virgin Trains has permanently abandoned weekday afternoon peak-hour ticket restrictions – but only on Fridays.

The train operator serves the west coast main line, connecting London Euston with Birmingham, Manchester, Chester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Virgin Trains has some of the most draconian ticket restrictions of any train operator. Passengers holding cheaper off-peak tickets are not allowed to travel on services that arrive in London on weekdays before 11.30am – which has the effect of making the 10.20am the first train that off-peak travellers from Birmingham or Warrington in Cheshire to London can catch.

Leaving the capital, off-peak travel is not permitted after 3pm or before 6.45pm.

An Anytime return from Manchester to Euston costs £338, while an off-peak return is £86.90 – one quarter of the price.

The effect is to create a “cliff-edge” of demand: many peak services are half-empty, while the first departures eligible to off-peak ticket holders are overcrowded.

Virgin Trains trialled the idea through the summer, when business traffic is lower, and then extended it through to the end of October.

During the trial, loads on what were previously the first trains after the peak to Birmingham, Manchester, Preston and Liverpool fell by at least half. Until the trial, they were generally “full and standing”, in rail industry jargon.

Passengers were spread more evenly through the early evening.

Sarah Copley, commercial director at Virgin Trains, said: “This change means we’ve been able to reduce congestion, whilst helping people save money and make an earlier start to their weekends.”

Mark Smith, the former British Rail manager who now runs the Seat61 website, said: “This is an excellent move which will spread the load on busy Friday afternoons and evenings.

“Since BR days, the pricing structure has caused an ‘artificial peak’ after the real one, with empty seats on peak trains and the first train on which off-peak (formerly Saver) fares are valid going out full and standing.”

The move means that from the end of the Friday morning peak to the last trains on Sunday, weekend passengers with flexible off-peak tickets can travel on any train they wish.

The rail industry has been consulting through the summer on the fares system, which is widely regarded as unfit for purpose. Passengers on the west coast main line adopt a wide range of dodges to cut costs, from “split-ticketing” to buying tickets for longer journeys than they intend to take in order to exploit variations in peak rules.

Virgin Trains’ move could put pressure on other rail firms to follow suit. Some passengers in the Midlands and North of England who have a choice of routes may choose to move from East Midlands Trains and LNER to Virgin Trains.

The rules still forbid travel with off-peak tickets until late morning on all working days.