Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that nationalised rail operators retain discounts for off-peak travel.

This Government is overhauling the complex fares and ticketing system to make it easier for passengers to trust that they are buying the right ticketing and getting the best fare. We need to balance affordability for both passengers and taxpayers as we reform fares and deliver Great British Railways, ensuring everyone gets a fair deal.

On longer-distance routes, we need to move away from the inefficient and unacceptable situation where some ‘peak’ trains run nearly empty while some ‘off-peak’ trains are overcrowded. To address this, we are trialling more flexible, demand-based pricing on some London North Eastern Railway routes.