Government plan to tempt UK back to trains dismissed as gimmick

theguardian.com:

A government-backed “Great British Rail sale” to tempt travellers back to trains will slash the cost of a million journeys next month, but unions have dismissed it as a gimmick.

The Department for Transport said the offer was “further supporting families with the cost of living” at a time of high inflation.

While campaigners and the industry welcomed the move as a first step, Labour said it would offer little relief. Only about 1% of all journeys taken are likely to benefit from the promotion, which is targeted at intercity travel at quiet times, meaning even fewer commuters will see any reduction in fares.

Nonetheless, the offer, billed as a “first-of-its-kind Great British Rail sale”, has been enthusiastically endorsed by the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, in a bizarre promotional video.

Shapps, a former salesman who once ran a web marketing business under the pseudonym Michael Green, employs his skills to full effect at various points in the video donning a hoodie, sunglasses, rucksack and handling a rubber crab to advertise travel to locations from Cornwall to Edinburgh. He ends by declaring: “It’s time to get real,” before boarding an LNER train.

The fares, which include a single journey from London to Edinburgh for £22, Manchester to Newcastle for £10.30, and Birmingham to Bristol Temple Meads for £12.60, will be launched on Tuesday on a Great British Rail sale site.

The cut-price tickets will only be available for a five-week period before the next half-term holiday, from 25 April to 27 May, and are not expected to be available over the first May bank holiday weekend.

The Campaign for Better Transport said the sale was a useful first step in getting people back on to trains as the pandemic eases. Former transport