A rail operator has extended a heavily discounted offer to a major Scottish route following the success of a trial south of the border.
Avanti West Coast launched 'Superfare' tickets a fortnight ago on services between the UK capital and Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.
One-way tickets for £30 are now being offered on Glasgow to London trains with spare capacity in a scheme similar to Eurostar's £25 SNAP fares.
The ticket enables customers to book a journey for a specific date with the exact time of travel selected by the intercity operator.
Passengers are assigned a seat 24 hours before the train’s departure.
Bookings can be made at least seven days and up to 21 days before travel, and the number of tickets available each day will vary.
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Avanti say that so far two thirds of Superfare journeys are "additional" in that they have been either passengers switching from car or coach or journeys that wouldn't have been made.
A spokesman said: "The rationale is to try and encourage people who normally wouldn’t travel by rail to give us a go, whilst at the same time using what we call our ‘distress stock’ (IE empty seats).
"We know that most days our services leave Euston or Glasgow with a few empty seats.
"But it's hard to know how many and on what services.
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"So Superfare gives us the ability to match customers to trains closer to the day of travel.
"The research undertaken so far suggests Superfare is being used by customers who would either not have travelled before or via alternative means of transport (EG car).
"It's never meant to replace our range of Advance Fares, instead compliment and aimed at those who have the flexibility to travel within a wider window."
A campaign to encourage more people to travel by train has highlighted routes where rail is significantly cheaper and faster than car; these include Glasgow – Lake District, Bradford – London, Edinburgh – Newcastle and Manchester – Glasgow.
A report by Trainline recommended measures including creating a digital ‘green’ railcard, and offering discounts that would be unlocked if someone takes five trains in a year.
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Trainline CEO Jody Ford said: "‘Sustainability is rail’s secret weapon.
"The ‘crucial market’ of people under 30 is particularly receptive ‘as a generation who are driven by ethical decision-making, who care about sustainability’, but Trainline’s research has found that many of them do not make a link between rail travel and sustainability and so ‘we have to convince people’ through cross-industry messaging."
Last month Avanti West Coast was given a six-month extension to its contract despite figures showing it has the worst record in the UK for cancellations at the end of the year.
The FirstGroup-owned company's contract was due to expire at the end of March but the Department for Transport has now extended it.
Rail regulator data shows that one in ten of the operator's planned trains over the final quarter of last year were cancelled.
The government’s controversial decision means the rail company will be able to continue running services until October 15.
This decision comes almost six months after the operator was initially put on a short-term contract by the Government and ordered to develop a recovery plan aimed at addressing poor performance on vital West Coast Main Line routes.
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