The rail union, RMT has accused the online ticket booking site Trainline of relentless profiteering at the expense of passengers and taxpayers amid the uncertainty surrounding the planned closure of the ticket offices.
RMT's accusations against the Trainline app are that although it allows passengers to book tickets for railway journeys, it charges both a booking fee and takes a 5% commission on all single and return tickets it sells.
In response, Trainline admitted that the cheapest tickets are not prioritised in its search criteria, nor does it automatically show all fares that are available for any particular journey.
That means if a journey has a cheaper fare but it requires travel by a later train, takes longer, or entails one or more changes, it will not be shown.
Trainline's latest half-year results for 2023/24 show that it is set to generate revenue of £200m this year from UK ticket sales, but the amount that rain operating companies and the government want to save from the closure of all ticket offices in half of that, at £100m.
In 2023, the total remuneration for the company's CEO was £1.71m, an increase of almost nearly 9% from the previous year, which came out of a reported profit by the company of £22m. Trainline has also announced a shareholder buyback programme of up to £50m for the next year.
With its business plan, Trainline has a vested interest in ticket offices being closed. It describes shifts to online and mobile ticketing as a ‘significant structural tailwind'. That theme was reiterated last month when an investment fund recommended that its clients should purchase Trainline shares because “closure of some UK rail ticket offices are a possible tailwind”.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Private companies and contractors that are operating within the railways are making a killing while the government is pushing for the closure of all ticket offices.
“Half the revenue Trainline is expected to make this year could be used to help fund the railways properly, instead of the cost cutting agenda train operators have embarked upon with the ticket office closure programme.
“Passengers do not want algorithms in apps giving them the ticket that the companies want you to buy so they can make the most profit.
“They need ticket office staff who can recommend the best and cheapest ticket as well as making the railway a safe and secure place for all to go about their travels.”
According to the Trainline website “Our search ranking criteria is based upon the departure time and the fastest available journeys with the smallest number of changes (which includes all direct services of comparable duration). We highlight the cheapest within these results. No other ranking criteria, remuneration or other conditions are considered. Our results are organized to highlight the ones we consider to be the most relevant based on the criteria highlighted above and show the cheapest price within those results.”
A Trainline Spokesperson said “We are proud to be one of UK rail's biggest advocates helping attract more people onboard trains while saving our customers 35% on average for their journey.
“Not only does our tech identify the best value journey for a customer's search criteria balancing price with ease and convenience, we continue to innovate to launch cost-saving products like SplitSave which we brought into the mainstream.
“The ticket office debate remains in the hands of Government and Industry who must hear the views of customers. If this leads to changes, we will help as much as possible to find solutions for affected customers and ensure the accessibility and sustainability of train travel can remain unrestricted.
“All retailers, including independent retailers like Trainline and Train Operating Companies, are paid the same flat commission rate by the industry for online ticket sales, which is lower than the commission paid by the industry for sales through other channels including ticket vending machines.”
Trainline. Bunch of cowboys. I my opinion. wouldn’t go anywhere near them after my experiences with them.
Simple remedy…ban the greedy tickets sellers.thats what tickets offices are there for.
I recently found out that children travel free on Transport for Wales but Trainline service does not give you that info and the only childrens tickets available from them the ones you pay for.
The Trainline haa long been a dirty word within railway enthusiast circles, with everyone knowing it’s a rip off. I’ve sometimes used their website to look up fares, but never to actually buy a ticket. Indeed I have never briught a rail ticket on line. The new various split ticketing web sites are useful for suggesting cheaper ways to buy your ticket,but again I just use their infornationnto buy the ticker from the ticket office. It should also be noted that even the ticket machines at most stations cannot sell you the cheapest possible tickets, so retaining ticket offices is an absolute must for passengers. RMT are quite right to protest about this.
Train line is the last place I would go to buy a ticket. Price gouging and crap service.. it’s simple go to your train company of choice z(I use Northern) and play around with options, read the web site showing time and fares. I selected one fare yesterday and it highlighted a lower cost fare. I’m with Mick Lynch all the way
I really don’t know why people bother with The Trainline, so many other train ticket websites, LNER, Hull Trains and many others with NO fees. The problem is that the WAY the train ticket information is displayed is different depending on which website you use. Train information is subjective i.e. different people prefer the information presented in different ways and quite rightly. London to Crewe is the best illustration of a good or bad website. Many websites on first search don’t show the slower and cheaper London North Western Railway fares. CONSISTENCY AND MULTIPLE choices on the way the information on the same website is the key!
Train companies have apps as well, I use the Chiltern Railways app and that doesn’t charge a fee, so you get the same price as at the station. You can buy tickets on it that don’t use any Chiltern services.
One thing to mention is when purchasing a ticket on Trainline if you need a refund on it you dont get the full amount paid back.If purchased at a ticket office you are entitled for a full refund.
Tainline adds a commission to what you pay and tries to charge to collect a ticket from the machine at the station.
Mr Lynch talks about money going out of the system..
How much money has been lost because of his unions
Constant striking.?
“Just highlighting the fact”.He is highlighting yet another thing his union do not approve of and there are many.The reality is his members want gold plated jobs for life, with gold plated bells and ( railway) whistles.
Just decent wage no pay rise for 4years
Railboard is partnered with TrainSplit, and so benefits from their algorithms and overall system. Trainline and TrainPal each use their own split ticketing algorithms.
I get the same price wherever I buy it so does it matter
Ticket offices sell the same cheaper tickets Trainline are talking about without charging fees or commission.
It matters as with Trainline you have to pay a booking fee in addition to the tickets.
It also matters if you don’t get offered the cheapest fares.
Who do the RMT think they are and what right have they to comment on an individuals choice in choosing an independent ticket marketing company.The union exists to represent it’s members but appears to think it is also in the business of advising the public on all matters relating to rail travel it does not approve of.I would advise anyone seeing RMT’s comments on anything to view what they say with a latheinch of salt.The comments made by them are usually self serving.
Hi Steven…yes you are right the r.m.t are representing there members by trying to stop a corrupt and enept government from closing ticket offices which the elderly and disabled community rely on and also these ticket offices don’t charge you 5% to book your ticket but try to give you the cheapest fare they can.. obviously by your comments you do not understand that private companies on the railway make the most profit at your expense and Mick lynch is just highlighting the fact.
The cheapest fares are there you just have to look for them.