After an overhaul of rail fares was announced to try to make it easier for passengers to buy the cheapest tickets, one man shed light on just how complex the system is.
Jonathan Heywood, a Newcastle United supporter, bought split tickets for him and his girlfriend to watch his team play Oxford United.
But he was in for a surprise when the tickets arrived.
Split fares, which cover different legs of a journey but don’t necessarily necessitate changing trains, are sometimes a cheaper way to travel.
He told Sky News:”Well I couldn’t believe it at first, but in the end it was actually worth it and I would do it again.
“There were 56 tickets, so 28 each for me and my girlfriend, and we split them into 4 envelopes - 14 each way for each of us - so it was manageable.
“The only hassle was our reservation changed every couple of stops so we sat in two unreserved seats for the whole journey.”
Unfortunately the pair didn’t even get to watch the match, as they ended up in A&E after Heywood’s girlfriend slipped over and injured herself on the way into the stadium.
To add insult to injury, Newcastle lost 3-0 to the home team.
Under new ticketing guidelines to be trialled in May, some fares for long, connecting journeys will be removed from the system as cheaper alternatives exist, in a bid to negate the need for split ticketing to save money.
Single leg pricing will be introduced for some journeys to make it simpler for passengers to know if they would be better off buying two single tickets or a return, the Press Association reported.
In October, the Commons’ Transport Select Committee published a damning report which stated that “unfairness, complexity and a lack of transparency” in rail ticketing have been apparent for at least a decade.
Train companies claim they have been prevented from being more flexible in offering tickets that passengers want because of government rules covering rail fares.