Northerners have bought nearly 10 per cent more advance purchase train tickets in the past year. Northern, the train operator, believes this is because more customers are planning their journeys ahead of time rather than opting for the 'turn up and go' method. Advance Purchase tickets offer up to 65 per cent off the standard ticket price and can be bought from 12 weeks before travel until 15 minutes before departure.
From November 4, this booking window will apply to online and over-the-counter sales, as Northern aims to standardise sales across its retail channels. There are 10 million Advance Purchase tickets available on Northern services across the North of England every week. Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: "Our customers know the best way to bag a bargain is to book in advance – and the almost 10 per cent rise in the number of Advance Purchase tickets sold is something we welcome.
"We have a long-running campaign to encourage people to switch their journeys from road to rail – and if we can help get people to where they want to be for better value, that helps our cause. "The move to apply the same booking window to online and over-the-counter sales is part of our commitment to ensure consistent ticket prices across all of our retail channels.".