Why train ticket booking and rail fares in the UK are so confusing. With the help of fares expert The Man in Seat 61 Mark Smith, we demystify:

• LNER’s new Simpler Fares pilot
• The Great British Rail Sale
• Which? magazine’s report that railway ticket vending machines are twice as expensive as booking train tickets online
• How to buy the cheapest train tickets or get the best deal on train tickets

We also cover:

• HS2 land safeguarding lifted north of Birmingham – has it struck a fatal blow to the high speed rail project?
• Northern Mayors Andy Burnham and Andy Street’s HS2 alternative and has Defence Secretary Grant Shapps just poured cold water on it before Mark Harper and Rishi Sunak have even heard what it is?
• Rail disruption in Network Rail’s Western region on 363 days out of 365 – is it really as bad as that?