Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will discuss with Virgin Trains the extent to which its franchise agreement permits differentiation in ticket pricing for similar journeys to end from (a) Preston and (b) Lancaster stations.

Regular meetings are held with the Franchisee (Virgin Trains West Coast) to discuss various matters including management and monitoring of fares regulation through the Franchise Agreement.

The Franchise Agreement sets out the terms of fares both regulated and un-regulated.

The Government regulates the existence and price of certain rail fares. Through fares regulation the Government aims to strike an appropriate balance between protecting passengers from possible market abuse and allowing train operators scope for innovation.

For unregulated fares Virgin can apply different peak/off-peak restrictions on a long distance route and they can segment the train journey according to market conditions. Unregulated fares include the lower cost Advance purchase fares which have been introduced by a number of operators. This has helped to make some leisure travel services significantly cheaper for passengers who are able to book ahead and commit themselves to travelling on a specific departure, this has also assisted with improved train occupancy.