Grant Shapps’ cheap train ticket deals sink into farce Business

Grant Shapps’ push for the public to return to the railways risked descending into farce after websites crashed, claims it would help the cost of living crisis were quashed and millions of commuters dailies were excluded from the “Great British Rail Sale”.

Critics have pointed out that the one million discounted tickets on offer represent just one percent of all tickets to be sold over the next month.

Mr Shapps, the Transport Secretary, insisted the half-price sale would help households hit by the cost of living crisis.

But Norman Baker, a former transport minister, said such claims were “a bit of a red herring” because the discounts were not available during peak hours when commuters typically travel.

Mr Baker, spokesperson for the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “It’s not enough, but it’s a good first step.

“When [people] back on the railways, they can see that the trains are safe, they are clean and overall they are punctual.

However, he added that the sale would be no comfort to the estimated one million daily rail commuters.

“It is intended for leisure travel; off-peak trips. And looking at the numbers from two weeks ago, leisure travel was 102% of what it was pre-Covid.