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Railways: Fares

Asked by Dr Roz SavageLiberal DemocratDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 7 September 2026UIN 25341

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that passengers paying premium Advance fares on peak services are provided with sufficient seating capacity.

Answered by Department for Transport

The provision of Advance fares is a commercial decision for train operators. Advance fares are priced according to demand for a particular service and vary by route, date, time of travel and time of booking.


Advance fares are sold with a seat reservation and are therefore limited in number. Train operators manage the availability of Advance fares alongside the capacity available on each service.

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