Trainline PLC (LSE:TRN) shares fell almost 9% to a five-month low on Wednesday morning as more details emerged around the rail ticketing sector as part of the UK government's plans for Great British Rail (GBR).
Yesterday, the Department for Transport said GBR will be able to reform the fares and ticketing system without needing the agreement of multiple operators, with the aim of creating a simpler ticketing system.
GBR will provide ticketing services directly to customers through ticket offices, vending machines, on trains and digitally, with a website and app created to replace train operator websites, competing with third-party retailers such as Trainline and its rivals.
"Legislative changes will enable and empower GBR to deliver industry-wide modernisation and reform of the complex and fragmented fares landscape inherited from privatisation, where even minor changes meant securing agreement across multiple train operators with their own commercial interests," the DfT document 'A railway fit for Britain's future' stated.
"This will enable GBR to simplify the ticketing system and make it easy for passengers to find the right fare. While the intent of this legislation is to enable GBR to deliver these benefits, the Secretary of State will also retain specific oversight over the affordability of the railway."
Exact plans for the GBR online retail system will be developed in the coming months in partnership with industry and the private sector, the DfT said.
This report was issued alongside the launch of a public consultation about the formation of a new rail watchdog as part of the legal process of creating GBR.
Other news this week the company included a newspaper report challenging the company's "bizarre" pledge that it offers the cheapest rail tickets.
An article in the Independent took apart the company's claim that “You won’t find cheaper tickets anywhere else”, with the article noting that it charges fees on top of fares on about a third of customer purchases.
The travel section article said that "finding cheaper tickets than Trainline is simple" as train operators are not permitted to charge booking fee so "always sell at face value, whether at a ticket office or online".
It comes a few months after a survey from rail union RMT revealed what it called Trainline's "destructive" practices and problems with its ticketing system including "bogus tickets, excessive pricing, and confusing fare options".
Analysts at Deutsche Bank said the main points of note to Trainline are that the government is committed to an open access ticketing system but plans to simplify fares and modernising ticketing, which when first flagged by transport minister Heidi Alexander led to a sizeable hit to Trainline's share price.
The DfT said it planned to consolidate online ticket-buying for GBR, with a single online ticketing website, working alongside the private sector.
The stock was down 30p to 316p on Wednesday morning.