Cheapest fares sold out for Christmas rail travel

Long distance rail travellers face being charged six times the normal price for journeys before Christmas, an Evening Standard survey has found.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to leave London by train over the next few days but most cheap fares for tomorrow and Christmas Eve have sold out.

However, the Standard found the same tickets are available days later with huge discounts, prompting accusations that train companies are ripping off Christmas travellers.

Train company National Express East Coast is charging £97.20 for a ticket to Edinburgh tomorrow but the same ticket costs £35.50 on New Year's Eve and £15.70 at the beginning of March.

Those travelling to Newcastle on GNER trains will have to pay about £100 for a single ticket tomorrow and Christmas Eve, while a ticket on New Year's Eve costs £33.50. A ticket bought three months in advance would cost £12.90.

Virgin is charging £61.50 for a single ticket to Manchester over Christmas, which would normally cost about £26.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the Rail Passengers Council, said he was not surprised at how expensive Christmas fares were, claiming that train companies refused to say how many cheap tickets they put on sale. He said: "We are calling for train companies to make public how many cheaper tickets are available at different times of the year. We just don't know how many were available before they sold out. The Friday before Christmas will be the busiest day."

The TSSA rail union called for Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly to step into the row over restricted cheap tickets. General secretary Gerry Doherty said: "The rail companies are always claiming that cheaper tickets are available if only you book ahead. But many people trying to book online are finding these so-called deals are a mirage."

Rail companies today denied they were exploiting travellers over the festive season. A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said: "The railways are busy during the Christmas getaway and people do book ahead to buy the very cheapest seats. But there are still plenty of cheaper priced tickets available. We completely refute TSSA's suggestion that train operators are restricting the sale of cheaper tickets."

He said restrictions on the use of savers had been lifted between now and the end of the month.