Rail fares, tax, house prices and retirement

Rail passengers could find it easier to buy cheaper tickets following a trial involving the overhaul of Britain’s rail fares system. The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, says the 16 million fares currently on offer are ‘baffling’ for passengers. It is commencing trials in May on a number of routes, including CrossCountry, Virgin Trains’ east and west coast services and East Midlands. The Guardian reports that ‘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. There will also be measures to make ticket-vending machines more user-friendly.’ Tax Tens of thousands of people have paid the wrong tax on pension withdrawals made under new pension freedom rules which came into force in April 2015, according to The Telegraph.