First-class carriages on suburban commuter trains could be scrapped by the government in an effort to reduce overcrowding on rush-hour services.
Transport secretary Chris Grayling told The Telegraph that there should just be one single class of travel for shorter rail journeys.
“I don’t really see a case for a non-longer-distance journey for there to be any division between first and second class. There should just be one class on the train,” he said.
“I absolutely understand what a total pain it is if you are standing on a train for 20-30 minutes on the way to work.
"People will see less first class in the future as we start to say that on busy suburban trains you can't start segregating.”
The government is already considering scrapping first class carriages on the Southeastern rail franchise, which runs services from London to Kent and Sussex, when the new franchise begins in December 2018.