Government planning its own Great British Railway’s train ticket sales website

The government is planning to launch its own railway ticketing website, replacing the current buffet selection of individual train company websites.

Although private companies will still be able to sell train tickets to the public, the current medley of English train operating company websites will be merged into a single Great British Railways ticketing service.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said in a statement that “exact plans for Great British Railways online retail and ensuring a fair and competitive market will now be developed over time in close partnership with industry and the private sector.”

The changes won’t take effect soon, as they will depend on when the legislation enabling the creation of Great British Railways takes effect. There’s also no formal decision yet on whether the unified ticket sales website would be built in-house, contracted out to a new supplier — or if the government would white label one of the existing ticket-selling platforms.

Billing systems used by the TOCs…

  • On Track Retail: GTR & Southeastern
  • PICO4UK: Avanti West Coast & C2C
  • Silverrail: Chiltern Railway, Grand Central & Transport for Wales
  • Trainline: CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia, Northern, Scotrail & West Midlands Trains
  • Vix: LNER
  • Worldline: Hull Trains, Great Western Railway, Lumo, South Western Railway & TransPennine Express

The government’s plan to create a Great British Railways ticketing sales website and app is not unexpected, as it was announced back in 2021 as part of the Williams-Shapps reforms. However, a change of government always throws up uncertainties, so the latest notice from the DfT clarifies the situation.

The DfT added that “Great British Railways will deliver on the government’s commitment to simplify the complex web of fares and tickets that currently exist across the network, including by allowing passengers to buy tickets both online and offline.”

Despite its name, Great British Railways will be mainly an English railway operator. The Welsh and Scottish governments have devolved control over their local services, and it will be up to them to decide whether to sell tickets through the government’s proposed website.