Following my recent call in the House of Commons for rail tickets to be more affordable and flexible, I welcome the introduction of flexible tickets on our railways.
Prior to the introduction of flexible season tickets, the most cost effective option for travelling from Deal to London St Pancras twice a week would have been to purchase daily tickets. The flexible season tickets should provide savings of around £114 per month on this basis.
I am aware that some season travellers wanted the flexi ticket to be at the same daily equivalent level as for a full annual or monthly season ticket. While this may not provide the level of savings some were hoping for, this does still provide better value for those returning to the office for part of the week than would otherwise be available.
The cost of tickets more generally is something I have raised in Parliament and with Transport Ministers. I would like to see cheaper tickets for our area, perhaps based on relative average earnings between different areas.
The Government has been subsiding rail services during the pandemic, including the peak high speed service to Martin Mill, Walmer and Deal. I have been discussing with the Rail Minister the return to full high speed services for our area in line with demand returning on our train lines.