THERE’S good news for rail users with the introduction of lower single and return fares on more direct journeys to the London and South East area, with new fares for routes via Newbury.
A spokesperson for First Great Western said, “The new fares, which see an almost 12% reduction in cost of an Anytime Return and 8.5% reduction in the cost of an off-peak return, will be available from all stations in the Westbury area. This contains: Freshford, Avoncliff, Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge, Westbury, Dilton Marsh, Warminster and Frome to all stations within the London Travelcard area.”
A member of the First Great Western Customer Panel explains, “It is recognised that most customers travelling to London from the Westbury area will travel direct, but the only ticketing option is route ‘Any Permitted’. Because tickets from Westbury are valid via Bath, the prices must be the same as those from Bath Spa in order to avoid anomalies. However, Bath Spa is further from London than Westbury, it has a better service and demand is higher, so prices from Bath Spa are set with these factors in mind. As such, fares from Westbury are comparatively high.
“We are introducing an alternative set of fares to our Westbury area customers, routed ‘Via Newbury’ and priced lower than the ‘Any Permitted’ flow. These are priced from all stations Avoncliff to Westbury, plus Dilton Marsh, Warminster and Frome, to stations within the London Zonal area, and vice versa.”
First Great Western says, “We recognise that more passengers wish to travel via the direct route, rather than via Bath Spa. Those who do wish to travel via Bath can still do so at the former, non-reduced price.”
