Paul Corfield wrote:
The current (and fairly new) system where you can mix and match cheap
singles has been fantastic. I suspect that this will disappear.

I would be surprised if this sort of change was made short term. Longer
term it entirely depends on how the replacement franchise looks. I would
expect the premium profile not to be quite so steep this time as surely
people must be learning the lessons of the process by now.

Irrespective of the premium profile, this sort of change is absolutely
certain *not* to be made. GNER (along with the other long-distance
operators) followed Virgin's lead in providing cheap advance-purchase
one-way tickets because it was demonstrably profitable to do so, rather
than out of deep love for their passengers.

The cheap tickets mean that instead of £0, the railway gets £20 that
would otherwise have gone to coach companies or to oil companies - and
the cost of an extra person on a half-empty off-peak train is
effectively zero, so the margin is quite significant...

Tickets like the Weekender are far more likely to disappear (and the
Saver will have even more restrictions imposed on it), as it allows
people to travel on busy trains without paying the full £200-£300
open fare.

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org