LNER's cheapest walk-up fares between London and many of the stations they serve are supposed to be priced at half the cost of the Off Peak Return, when purchased as part of a return journey.
For quite some time, LNER's website had a competitive advantage in being able to offer these fares while other retailers were denied the ability to do so, but after a media article (as posted here last month) exposed LNER's unfair advantage to a wider audience, LNER's position was no longer tenable, so other retailers are now able to sell them.
So for example using Trainline or Trainsplit to search for a York to London return next Friday, it is possible to get an Advance on a morning train to London, and get a fair price on the first 'off peak*' trains back in the evening, and having flexibility about when you come back.
It's good that LNER are doing the right thing, but they should have done this as a matter of course and not waiting for many months until the matter became a big news story, by which time thousands of people had already paid over the odds.
That said, not all retailers are offering these fares. I've not tested them all, but using GWR as an example, the return leg will cost you twice the price.
(* Don't believe LNER when they say that their off peak tickets are for "trains [that] aren't as busy"; these are the busiest trains out of King's Cross, but that's another story!)
For quite some time, LNER's website had a competitive advantage in being able to offer these fares while other retailers were denied the ability to do so, but after a media article (as posted here last month) exposed LNER's unfair advantage to a wider audience, LNER's position was no longer tenable, so other retailers are now able to sell them.
So for example using Trainline or Trainsplit to search for a York to London return next Friday, it is possible to get an Advance on a morning train to London, and get a fair price on the first 'off peak*' trains back in the evening, and having flexibility about when you come back.
It's good that LNER are doing the right thing, but they should have done this as a matter of course and not waiting for many months until the matter became a big news story, by which time thousands of people had already paid over the odds.
That said, not all retailers are offering these fares. I've not tested them all, but using GWR as an example, the return leg will cost you twice the price.
(* Don't believe LNER when they say that their off peak tickets are for "trains [that] aren't as busy"; these are the busiest trains out of King's Cross, but that's another story!)
