py_megapixel
Established Member
No, no, no!!! This is exactly the kind of trap the industry needs to NOT fall into. The railway is there to serve its passengers. Not the other way round. It is nothing short of arrogant to assume that somebody will plan their journey around when LNER finds it convenient to take them.They might not drive - they might go the following weekend instead if it's booked up.
People who treat their vehicle as the de-facto mode of transport - of which there are many, and who they really need to be attracting to rail - are used to planning their trip, and then fitting the transport (i.e. their route by road) around it. They might wait an hour or two to avoid travelling in rush hour, but they aren't going to be changing the days they travel on.
If I spoke to someone who was planning a trip, and said "Why don't you go on the train instead of driving? You should be able to get a ticket for within a week of when you want to travel" - I think they'd assume I was joking. It's such a hard sell as to be almost comical.