London Northeastern Railway ( LNER ) is continuing its recently-introduced ticketing system for key intercity routes as they scrap “confusing” off-peak fares, making way for tickets priced depending on their flexibility. The train operator has been trialling their new train tickets throughout the year on routes starting in London and ending in Newcastle , Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh , replacing the traditional ‘off-peak’ fares with different classifications. In January, LNER introduced a new ‘semi-flexible’ ticket called the ‘70min Flex’ as part of their two-year-long trial, which allowed customers to travel on any LNER train up to 70 minutes before or after the exact timing on the initially booked journey.
On these select routes, off-peak and super-off-peak tickets were scrapped, but tickets could still be booked in advance, with the choice of adding flexibility with the ‘70min Flex’ tickets. From yesterday (30 September), after nine months of trialling the new system, LNER has expanded its pilot to more local stations surrounding Edinburgh , Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed. Customers can now also use the ‘70min Flex’ ticket with other train operators in those areas, such as Northern, TransPennine Express, CrossCountry, ScotRail and the Tyne and Wear Metro.
After Monday, passengers will be able to flex their ticket between London and 27 stations, such as Heworth, Alnmouth and Edinburgh Airport, in both directions on their train journeys. As part.