For those of you who have enjoyed the sport of hunting down an understandable/affordable UK rail ticket, your days (and days) of fun are at an end.
Currently, a journey of say, 100 miles could show fares in a range of perhaps £100 down to £10 (broad example only). The £100 is for a walk up Standard fare, running down through many, many variations to the £10 ExtraSuperDooperAdvanceSpecial(conditions apply - vis: Bookable exactly 6 weeks in advance, three changes, only valid on Thursdays departing after 2.30, stopping at every suburban and country station except Oxford. Never Oxford.) Note: You have little chance of actually getting this fare, because only 4 tickets have been allocated to this promotion and they had gone by 1 minute past midnight.
The rail regulator has announced a new, simple structure of 3 ticket types:
1. Walk up, buy any time, use on any train, fares. (NB Please apply to your bank's loan officer well in advance for this one and in the current credit climate, a nice box of chocolates wouldn't go amiss)
2. Buy any time, off peak fares ( You still might need the angina tablets on standby for this one)
3. Advance - buy in advance, specific train only. (I'm sure those creative 'conditions apply' rail planners will still be able to come up with something exhilarating for this category - and a two hour wait for a connection change at Crewe is more entertaining than it sounds)
More info here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7364127.stm
