'Starting differences': Ticket machines at train stations can charge up to 154% more than if you book online. Which? research among mystery shoppers discovered

Ticket machines at train stations can charge fees of up to 154 percent more than booking online, where the best rates are 'unavailable or hidden in a bewildering array of rate options', according to a mystery shopper study from Which?.

The consumer watchdog notes that public outcry recently put an end to rail companies' plans for widespread ticket office closures, but points out that 'Large numbers of travelers depend on ticket machines or online booking'.

As it stands, one in six of the 1,766 train stations controlled by the Ministry of Transport has a full-time ticket office; 40 percent work part-time and 43 percent have no ticket office at all. In 2022, 12 percent of tickets were purchased via a machine: approximately 150 million trips.

Which? sent mystery shoppers to 15 stations – each run by a different train operator – and checked the price of 75 journeys from a ticket machine against the price available on the UK's largest ticketing site, Train line.

At each machine, the mystery shoppers tried to buy the cheapest single ticket that same day, the next morning and in three weeks.

The research found that fares purchased online were cheaper about three-quarters of the time, and same-day trips were on average 52 percent more expensive with machines.

Which? called some price differences “eye-popping.”

For example, researchers who bought a same-day ticket from Holmes Chapel in Cheshire to London would have paid 154 percent more for their ticket at the station's ticket machine than if they bought online, with the machine charging £66 compared to from Trainline's £26 split ticket option.

Similarly, someone buying a single ticket from Northampton to Cardiff on the same day would have paid £107 for their ticket from the machine, 148 per cent more than if they bought online, where the price was just £43.

Which? found that the services offered by different ticket machines can vary significantly, with 'passengers often faced with limited choice and, as a result, higher prices'.

According to the consumer watchdog, one of the main reasons why vending machine tickets are often more expensive is that most do not offer 'advance' fares, cheaper fares available to buy ahead of travel.

Depending on the route, these may even be available up to 10 minutes before departure. Only five of the fifteen machines used by Which? offered them.

Which? also claims that 'some machines can also cause passengers to unknowingly miss out on cheaper fares'. At first glance, many of the machines used by the mystery shoppers at Which? were visited, not to sell tickets outside peak hours during peak hours.

When a mystery shopper visited Hitchin and looked for a one-way ticket to York later that day, the only option they found was a single for £133, even though the time they would be traveling qualified for an off-peak fare. .

If you look online, the trip can be booked through Trainline for just £55 outside peak hours, with the added benefit of using split ticketing to reduce costs.

Great Northern, the train operator responsible for the machines at Hitchin, said tickets for same-day travel outside peak hours can be found by selecting the 'tickets for future travel' button on the machine's home page.

Which? said: 'Many travelers are likely to be caught out by this oddity, as future travel is typically considered to apply to a date in the future. Even then, the lack of split ticketing would have resulted in a more expensive fare.”

In total, only a third of stations have the Which? had visited the most advanced smart ticket machines, but these do not offer split ticketing. However, they do provide real-time information and can sell tickets up to three months in advance – features that many machines lack.

The consumer watchdog also said that train passengers “can easily be surprised by the validity of their ticket, with many machines often not making it clear at which times and for which services certain tickets are valid.”

If no one is available at the station to ask for help, passengers risk a fine of £50 plus the price of a new ticket for their journey.

Most ticket machines Which one? Information about the timetable was also missing, making it difficult to plan an unfamiliar trip. This was the case at Britain's busiest station, Waterloo.

The use of machines also proved problematic for many mystery shoppers who tried to book tickets weeks in advance. For example, Great Western machines at major stations including Oxford and Paddington only sold tickets for same-day and next-day travel.

Which? noted that oOnline rates do not include booking fees. These may apply to advance bookings on Trainline.com.

Rory Boland, editor of what? Travel said: 'The price differences we discovered between booking online and using ticket machines at stations were nothing short of astonishing.

'Millions of tickets are purchased from ticket machines every year, meaning large numbers of us may be paying significantly more than necessary when traveling to work or visiting friends and family across the country.

'Where possible we recommend booking train tickets online for the cheapest options, but this will not be possible for everyone. A significant number of older people do not have access to the internet at all, leaving them little choice but to hit the ticket machines, which either do not offer the best prices or make it difficult to find the right fares.”

When approached for comment, RDG, Northern and London Northwestern declined.

GWR told Which? that ticket machines are not intended to offer the same range of tickets as online or in-person sales, but instead offer 'ticket collection after a digital sale' or 'walk-up rates' before departure. It also told Which? that 'current regulations do not allow train operators to recommend split tickets at ticket machines or counters'.

Great Northern (part of GTR – responsible for Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express) added: 'Our ticket machines are optimized to give people fast service for the simple journeys most people make. If the off-peak hours were placed on the home screen, customers could easily select an invalid ticket in a hurry.”

East Midlands Railway told Which? It has installed a number of smart kiosks in its network, ensuring that customers can board and, if necessary, buy their ticket on the train or at their destination.

The Department for Transport said the need to modernize fares and ticketing was raised in the consultation on the closure of ticketing offices and will 'seek to support the sector in modernizing ticket machines'.