The price of more than a million train tickets are to be cut by up to 50% in April and May in efforts to ease the cost of living crisis.
But the move has drawn plenty of criticism from transport campaigners and commuters.
In what the UK government and the rail industry has dubbed the ‘Great British Rail Sale’ – which is a first-of-its-kind offer, and has been described as “unprecedented” – Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that from today, selected train tickets will now become half price and many others having “very substantial reductions”.
With this being the first time that multiple rail operators have come together to offer nationwide savings, the government says it hopes the move will help connect friends and families, boost UK tourism, and encourage green travel across the country.
Cutting the cost of rail travel will help “ease some of the pressure” on finances at a time when inflation is rising, the Department for Transport said.
The discounted tickets have now gone on sale, with passengers eligible to travel for cut prices on certain off-peak and advanced fares between 25 April and 27 May.
They are being sold on a first come, first serve basis.
To help with the cost of living, we're selling over 1 million rail tickets at up to ½ price for trips from 25 Apr to 27 May 🎫
After 2 yrs of living life virtually, the Great British Rail Sale🚆 starts today.
Some of the selected journeys where travellers can now make savings across the North include Manchester to Newcastle, which was £20.60 and is now £10.30, and York to Leeds, which was £5.60 and is now £2.80.
It will now only cost £22 to get from London to Edinburgh, £25 to get from London to Cardiff, and £5.25 to get from Wolverhampton to Liverpool.
Speaking ahead of the launch of the ticket sale, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “For the first time ever, operators across the rail industry are coming together to help passengers facing rising costs of living by offering up to 50% off more than a million tickets on journeys across Britain.
“There’s no better time to visit friends, family, or just explore our great country.”
Tickets can be purchased online from participating retailers.
The Great British Rail Sale is offering over a million train tickets for up to half price / Credit: Network Rail
While government officials said that the offering of half-price rail tickets was just “one of the ways” it was helping to support those affected by the growing cost of living crisis, after having said to be “listening to people’s concerns” and already previously announcing measures to defer energy costs and offer Council Tax discounts for some households – but the move has still drawn a fair bit of criticism this morning.
The Great British Rail Sale has been critiqued on a number of factors, but primarily, for not helping commuters who are facing increasing travel costs.
Labour’s shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh was among those critiquing the scheme, taking to Twitter this morning to say that while the discounts this spring will be “small comfort to passengers” after years of “soaring fares”, it’s not enough.
“A decade of brutal Tory fare hikes have priced people off our railways,” she continued.
“This temporary respite will be small comfort to passengers who had thousands taken out of their pockets from soaring fares since 2010, and the decision to end the sale just before half-term will mean many families face the same punishing costs over the holidays.”
“The Tories can’t solve the cost of living crisis, because they created it,” she concluded.
Cutting the cost of rail travel will help “ease some of the pressure” on finances at a time when inflation is rising, the DfT said / Credit: Flickr
The Campaign for Better Transport has also expressed criticism, adding that it had been pushing for action to improve passenger levels for months.
Although the group welcomed the move by the government, Norman Baker, its chief executive’s adviser and former transport minister, said to the BBC: “It can show the Treasury that the way to increase income is to cut fares, not keep ratcheting them up and driving people off the railway.”
“This initiative, though very welcome, is but a first step,” he added.
He then called for an end to annual fare rises, and a review of tickets and travel patterns following the rise of hybrid working during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Acknowledging that the sale does not include peak fares and will therefore not be of much use to those commuting, Mr Shapps told Sky News that “it does cover quite a large number of tickets”.
He said he believes the scheme will be “widely welcomed by a large number of people”.
‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
“It speaks of nature, of craftsmanship, and of a couple who chose each other over status and what others thought of them.”
The sculpture has now gone on display at Dunham Massey from Thursday 26 June.
Featured Image – James Dobson (via Supplied)
News
Lewis Capaldi announces MASSIVE comeback gig in Manchester this year
Thomas Melia
Everyone’s favourite Scottish ballad-maker, Lewis Capaldi, is heading out on tour across the UK, including a massive Manchester date.
Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi is ready to tug at our heartstrings again right in front of our eyes as he announces a new UK arena tour.
This huge announcement comes right after his surprise set at the UK’s biggest music event of the year, Glastonbury, where he made a heroic return to the Pyramid Stage just two years after being forced to pull out.
Capaldi is known for writing some of the most notable and emotive hits of the late 2010s and early 2020s, including a long list of anthems such as ‘Someone You Loved’, ‘Bruises’ and ‘Before You Go’.
His monster of a hit ‘Someone You Loved’ has surpassed 3.9 billion views and is the UK’s most-streamed song of all time, so it is safe to say that his presence has been well and truly missed.
To many fans’ delight, the singer has stepped back into the spotlight and is ready to sing his heart out live at a variety of arenas across the UK, including Co-op Live right here in Manchester.
Now, in a post on his official Instagram account announcing this upcoming UK and Ireland arena tour, it’s good to see the Scottish powerhouse hasn’t lost his wit and charm as he jokes, “About time I got back to work.”
These shows are set to be in high demand as the singer has also revealed these upcoming dates, “Will be my only shows in the UK, Ireland or Europe this year! Would love to see ya there.”
On the back of his glorious Glasto return, Capaldi has dropped a huge heart-wrencher titled ‘Survive’ which offers more insight into the struggles and challenges the singer has been facing.
There is no confirmation of whether this new single marks the launch of a bigger project or not, but we can’t wait to scream his hits at the top of our lungs, regardless of when he pays Manchester a visit later this year.
Emily Sergeant -
19th April 2022 
