CHESHIRE train passengers could be paying more than twice as much as they should.

Consumer group Which? sent mystery shoppers to 15 stations around the country – each run by a different train operator – to compare prices with Trainline.

During the investigation, it was found that travelling from Holmes Chapel to London was priced at £66 by a machine, whereas Trainline offered the same trip for just £26.

Rory Boland, editor of the magazine Which? Travel, said: “The price differences we found between booking online and using station ticket machines were simply astounding.

“Millions of tickets are purchased using ticket machines every year, meaning that huge numbers of us are potentially paying significantly more than we need to when we commute to work or visit friends and family across the country.

“Wherever possible we’d recommend booking train tickets online for the cheapest options, but that won’t be possible for everyone.

“Significant numbers of elderly people don’t have internet access at all – leaving them with little choice but to run the gauntlet of ticket machines which either don’t offer the best prices, or make it difficult to find the appropriate fares.”

Chester and District Standard: Ticket machines at Holmes Chapel charged £66 for a journey to London. Trainline offered the same trip for £26.Ticket machines at Holmes Chapel charged £66 for a journey to London. Trainline offered the same trip for £26. (Image: Google Maps)

Industry figures show more than two out of five stations in England do not have a ticket office, with around 150 million journeys bought from machines in 2022.

Which? compared the price of 75 journeys by getting mystery shoppers to attempt to buy the cheapest one-way ticket for travel that same day, the following morning, and in three weeks’ time.

Overall, it was found that fares purchased online were cheaper around three-quarters of the time, with travel on the day costing an average of 52 per cent more from machines.

There are several factors accounting for the price discrepancies, such as some machines not offering cheaper advance fares or split-ticketing, or making off-peak fares less visible.

A spokeswoman for industry body the Rail Delivery Group said: “Since the industry set out the case for fares reform in 2019, there has been some good progress, but more can be done.

“The introduction of single-leg pricing and expansion of pay-as-you-go contactless fares are both important changes making fares easier and simpler for customers.

“We will continue to work with Government and industry stakeholders to achieve further reforms and deliver more benefits for our customers.