Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will hold discussions with train operators on making the process of purchasing railway tickets from ticket machines simpler in respect of (a) indicating peak and off-peak times, (b) where peak and off-peak times differs between train operators and (c) in other ways.

I recognise that ticket vending machines can sometimes be confusing and do not always make it easy for passengers to find the best ticket for their journey.For that reason, I challenged the rail industry at a Summit I held in December 2014 to improve the information they provide through ticket vending machines.The industry has responded by agreeing with the Office of Rail and Road a code of practice on retail information, published in March 2015, and most train operators now have actions underway or complete, which include providing new messages on screens to explain time restrictions and improving the availability of off-peak tickets through vending machines. The Department continues to monitor progress closely in this area.