In the last year, the number of train tickets purchased in advance by customers of train operator Northern has increased by almost 10%.

Northern says the increasing number of Advance Purchase tickets bought reflects the increasing number of customers who plan their journeys in advance rather than just turning up at a station and buying their ticket before they board the train.

The advantage of Advance Purchase tickets is that they offer a reduction of up to 65% in the price of a standard ticket.

Customers can also buy them from 12 weeks before travelling to 15 minutes before their train leaves.

Each week, ten million Advance Purchase tickets are available for travel on Northern services across northern England.

Arrangements for purchasing Advance tickets are changing from next Monday, 4th November.

From that date, Northern will standardise ticket sales across its retail channels so that tickets can be bought 12 weeks in advance from ticket offices as well as online.

Actual comparative figures show that 2.23m Advance Purchase ticket sales were purchased in the railway period seven in 2023 and 2.43m in the same railway period seven in 2024.

Northern now has the facility for anyone who has bought an Advance Purchase ticket to swap it for travel on another day.

Further information about buying Advance Purchase tickets is online at northernrailway.co.uk/tickets/advance.

“Our customers know the best way to bag a bargain is to book in advance – and the almost 10% rise in the number of Advance Purchase tickets sold is something we welcome.
“We have a long-running campaign to encourage people to switch their journeys from road to rail – and if we can help get people to where they want to be for better value, that helps our cause.
“The move to apply the same booking window to online and over-the-counter sales is part of our commitment to ensure consistent ticket prices across all of our retail channels.”

Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern