Evening Rush Hour Trains in West Yorkshire

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The above photo shows a train somewhere in Germany, taken a long time ago.

A few days ago, I went to Leeds by train, from Huddersfield. A day return costs £9.60 if you travel after 9:30 and not between 16:00 and 18:30 (the evening peak) or £11:60 at any time of the day. The cheaper ticket is known as an off-peak day return; the more expensive one is known as an anytime day return. I wanted an open ticket as I was not sure what train I wanted to return on. All I knew was that I would be returning before 16:00, so off-peak was ok. If I wanted the flexibility to travel during the evening peak, it would have cost over £2 more.

In Merseyside you can get an off-peak day return and use it between 16:00 and 18:30 in the evening. The same applies in Greater Manchester. You can even use an off-peak day return between 16:00 and 18:30 when the ticket starts in Merseyside and ends in Greater Manchester.

There is now a through train from Marsden to York. An off-peak day return costs £30.30, and you can use it between 16:00 and 18:30.

The train goes through Wakefield (in West Yorkshire) on its way to York. An off-peak day return to Wakefield costs £9.30, but you cannot use trains between 16:00 and 18:30. WTF?

So, why is West Yorkshire different?

Why can’t we have the same rules as everywhere else?

A quick look at the West Midlands Railway website shows that you can use an off-peak day return between Wolverhampton and Coventry during the evening peak.

The Transport for Wales website shows you can use an off-peak day return for travel been Cardiff and Swansea during the evening peak.

So, again, why can’t we do that in West Yorkshire?

I’ll be asking my MP and the Mayor of West Yorkshire about this anomaly.

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