Cheap train tickets from London to Scotland for £30 went on sale on Thursday in a bid to attract new passengers to the railways.
Avanti West Coast, which runs long-distance trains on the West Coast Main Line, extended its “low cost superfare” tickets north of the Border.
They are available to passengers who don’t mind not knowing the exact time of their train until 24 hours before it departs.
This allows train bosses to allocate passengers – who buy a ticket for a morning, afternoon or evening journey time – to trains where there are spare seats.
The superfare tickets to Scotland are less than half the usual fare – a single from Euston to Glasgow typically costs between £79 and £86.
Avanti launched the tickets last month, with £12 fares to Birmingham and £22 to Preston. Tickets to Liverpool for £15 and Manchester for £20 are also available.
The firm, which faced fierce criticism last year for a large number of delays and cancellations, had its contract operating the UK’s flagship long-distance route extended by the Department for Transport last month for a further six months.
However it is unable to run trains in and out of Euston from Good Friday until next Tuesday due to engineering works over the Easter weekend at Watford.
Further north, Network Rail’s upgrade of the Carstairs junction means Avanti cannot run trains in or out of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Passengers also face disruption elsewhere in London, with no Southern or Gatwick Express trains in and out of Victoria and the closure of the central section of the Elizabeth line, between Paddington and Abbey Wood.
The Superfare tickets are available for dates from April 24, which is when normal weekday services between Euston and Glasgow will resume, except for the May bank holidays. Weekend services will be affected by the works at Carstairs until June 4.
Superfare bookings can be made at least seven days and up to 21 days before travel. The number of tickets available each day will vary.
Leisure travel on the railways has risen to 125 per cent of pre-pandemic levels and now accounts for more than half of its income.
Sarah Copley, executive director at Avanti, said: “By offering a quick and easy way to select even more cost-effective fares, we hope to make it simpler for customers to find the right ticket for their needs, while encouraging others to take the train.”
The work on the West Coast Main Line at Watford means passengers will have to use a replacement bus service between Bedford and Milton Keynes.
Many Victoria services will be diverted to and from London Bridge. Maintenance work at Charing Cross means Southeastern services will run in and out of Cannon Street or Victoria.
