A COMMUTER is lobbying the region's trains operator after discovering it can be cheaper to travel from Norwich to London than it is from Chelmsford on the same train.
Tom Defty, founder of Essex Weather and Flood Forecasting Centre, discovered that Abellio Greater Anglia charges £6 more for a single fare to get to the capital from the county town than it costs from Norwich on specific off-peak journeys – despite the average journey being more than three times as long.
Currently, the cheapest available single fare from Chelmsford to London is £15.10, while the cheapest single from Norwich to London is £9, but is currently on offer at £5.
And although fares at peak times reflected the difference in distance between Essex towns and those further away, the 32-year-old said he would be saving more than £3,000 per year if he was commuting off-peak from Norwich.
"On a normal day for me, I would be paying £3,270 less to get to London.
"I would like the pricing to be fair along the whole line, not just chunks of it," explained Mr Defty, who usually commutes into London from Chelmsford during off-peak times to the weather centre's offices in Holborn.
"There is no opportunity to get a cheap ticket if you live in Essex, it's all one pricing structure. I'm sure people would use off-peak trains more to go into London if the prices were lower.
"We actually had to move Essex Weather to London as we couldn't guarantee that we could get from Chelmsford to London quickly if we needed to, and it's no surprise that the trains are a struggle.
"Last year I was more than 15 minutes late on 73 occasions coming into London from Chelmsford. My colleagues and I are used to poor conditions – but now the pricing from Chelmsford is more than £15."
The same issue applies to other locations in Essex.
People commuting to London Liverpool Street from Braintree will find themselves paying £21.40 for an off-peak single, while people coming in from Witham will be paying £20.80, compared to £9 in Ipswich or Norwich.
However, customers may be able to claw back some cash via return tickets, which are cheaper than returns from Norfolk and Suffolk, while those commuting in peak times will also be making a saving over those coming in from Norwich or Ipswich.
Abellio said it would not be feasible to offer such a fare discount from stations like Chelmsford, given that it was a "walk-up service" as opposed to Norwich, where pre-buy tickets were deemed to be more appropriate.
A spokesman for the operator added: "In line with other operators of Intercity train services, we offer Advance Purchase ticket products on our services between Norwich and London.
"These are longer distance tickets for one way travel with a range of ticket prices, dependent on the time of travel and how far in advance customers are able to book. These products are only available on a specific train and from certain mainline stations, subject to availability.
"Advance tickets are usually not available for shorter distance journeys to London from stations such as Chelmsford.
"Passengers from Chelmsford can travel on any train provided they hold the appropriate ticket for their journey."
The rules dictating the lower fares from destinations such as Norwich were brought in almost 15 years ago, prior to Abellio taking over the route, and the company has no immediate plans to change them – although there may well be more fare flexibility in future.
The spokesperson added: "Meanwhile, there are likely to be future developments in the rail industry with the introduction of more smartcard type ticketing systems, which will potentially create greater flexibility and new travel choices for passengers.
"The Department for Transport is currently running a consultation exercise on their website inviting passengers and stakeholders to contribute their views on what developments and improvements they would like to see taken forward as part of the next long franchise for the Greater Anglia network area, which is due to commence in October 2016."