Great Western Coffee Shop

On the government's figures ....

48% of journeys are made with season tickets or TravelCards.
50% of journeys are made with tickets purchased at the time of travel.
2% of journeys are made on advanced purchase tickets.

The "purchase at time of travel" category includes cheap day returns, saver tickets and full fare payers.

So if a train company were to remove the cheapest of it's special "walk up" fares and put restrictions on many of the others so that they were less used,  they would be significantly increasing their income.  If they offered a lot of new Advanced Purchase options at the same time, though, that would result only in a slight loss of revenue from that action.

In other word, a train company can significantly alter its balance sheet, at the expense of its passengers, by switching from Supersavers and other deals of that type to the advanced purchase tickets that I'm offered these days in profusion when I call up a timetable ... but which I cannot take advantage of because I don't know exactly what train I'll be returning on ....

Also, for a journey of 150 miles at full standard class fare you'll now pay ...

Over 50p per mile on Virgin West Coast or First Great Western
Around 40p per mile with Virgin Cross Country or GNER
Approx 30p per mile with South West Trains.

Some Bargains around ... 18p per mile, single, from London to Bristol - oh, that's London (Waterloo).