RAILWAY station ticket machines charge more than double an online retailer, research found.
Which? says the best value fares were unavailable or hidden compared with Trainline.
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Buying tickets from the machine at the train station could cost commuters more than double than the online rate Credit: Kirsty O'Connor / PA Wire
The consumer group sent mystery shoppers to 15 stations each run by a different train operator and checked 75 journeys.
They looked at prices for trips on the same day, the next morning, and in three weeks.
The study showed that online tickets were cheaper around three-quarters of the time, with travel on that day costing an average of 52 per cent more from machines.
A ticket from Holmes Chapel in Cheshire to London cost ￡66 at a machine, and ￡26 online.
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Northampton to Cardiff cost ￡107 from a machine and ￡43 online.
Rory Boland, of Which? Travel, said the discrepancy was shocking.
He added: “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 or visit friends and family.
“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.”
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Tory MP Greg Smith, who sits on the Commons Transport Committee, told The Sun: “There is no excuse.
“We need firm checks and balances in the systems available to ensure passengers only ever pay the cheapest possible fare.”
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.”
In November, the Government announced a U-turn over plans to close the vast majority of railway station ticket offices in England after widespread opposition.
This week, operator LNER launched a two-year trial for some of its routes, which involves reducing the number of fares and pricing tickets based on demand.