Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2025 to Question 85911 on Railways: Fares, what estimate she has made of the percentage of passengers travelling from (a) London, (b) York, (c) Newcastle and (d) Edinburgh who would experience fare increases under the demand-based pricing model trialled by LNER.

The London North Eastern Railway (LNER) ‘Simpler Fares’ trial is running on routes from the London area to stations between and around Newcastle and Edinburgh. York is not a station in the trial.

The trial aims to address the situation where some ‘peak’ trains run nearly empty while some ‘off-peak’ trains are overcrowded by adjusting pricing to reduce crowding, making travel more comfortable for passengers.

The trial allows passengers to benefit from increased flexibility at lower prices than before, and LNER reports that, as of July 2025, around a third of the new Semi-Flexible (70 minutes Flex) fares sold in the preceding four weeks cost less than the old Super Off-Peak fare.

The results of this trial will be carefully considered before taking any further decisions.