A rail ticket sale aimed at getting passengers back on the trains and offsetting the cost of living has been branded a ‘meaningless soundbite’ by critics - while others hope it could help the Government see the light about our over-priced network.
The bonanza, launched today for journeys taken between April 25 to May 27, had been sold by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps as a way to ‘help passengers facing rising costs of living’. But it's been panned by critics who say it will benefit ‘about 1 per cent’ of all journeys because it largely discounts intercity travel at quiet times.
The move was part of a bid to boost passenger numbers after they plummeted by nearly 80 per cent during the peak of the pandemic. Amid restrictions, a report from the Office of Rail Regulation showed passengers in the North West made a total of 30.6m journeys in the financial year 2020-21, just 21.1 per cent of those made the previous year. Passengers levels are now understood to have returned to 75pc of pre-Covid levels.
