UK train tickets could be priced like airline seats in rail shake-up

System should reduce most single fares, says DfT, which can be almost the same price as a return under traditional fare practices. Photograph: Lauren Hurley/PA

Train tickets in Britain could be priced like airline seats under a demand-based system being trialled by the government as part of a wider rail shake-up.

The transport secretary, Mark Harper, announced on Tuesday evening that fares on some long-distance trains run by LNER on the East Coast line will fluctuate according to availability.