News has emerged today that a new UK rail pass is planned to boost the number of train passengers.
It will mainly be intended for those who holiday at home although I suspect canny travellers may be able to use it to for the odd business trip.
Unfortunately full details are not yet available and the pass itself is unlikely to be made available until 2022.
Why? Because it’s all about the ‘pro-rate’ or the amount of money the individual operators would receive.
(That was the issue with global airpasses which were always cheaper when fewer airlines were included).
As industry publication RailBusiness UK notes, “details of how the pass would work are still to be worked out by the government, Rail Delivery Group [which represents the train firms] and Visit Britain.”
However what most do not realise is that the UK already has an All Line Rover suitable for leisure or business travel.
It is not promoted by the individual train operators and, judging by feedback from rail buffs, some ticket office staff are unaware of its existence.
But it is very costly at £540 for seven and £818 for 14 days standard class (£818 for seven days and £1,250 for 14 days in first class) presumably because many operators are involved. However it does qualify for railcard discounts.
Details are posted on the National Rail website.
