Advance rail tickets will be made available up to 10 minutes before travel as train operators cede to growing pressure over rip-off fares.

The Rail Delivery Group announced yesterday that seven rail firms, including Virgin Trains’ east and west coast franchises, have extended discount fares up to and on the day of travel.

It means that thousands of passengers will no longer be penalised unfairly for making unscheduled journeys, following sustained lobbying by campaign groups.

It comes on the back of a successful trial by CrossCountry in 2015, which dropped punitive restrictions on ticket sales which previously saw fares double on some journeys when purchased after midnight.

While campaign groups have welcomed the move, they warned that stations must employ more staff to prevent the “chaos” caused by lengthy queues at automated ticket machines.