'Third class' rail travel could return for first time since 1950s, unions claim It is understood First Group was considering the introduction of a third class - between standard and first - in its proposals for the West Coast Main Line running from London to north west England and Scotland. Would you be prepared to put up with third class travel if it meant a reduction in fares? The Department for Transport no train operator would be allowed to lower standards further and any bid to do so would be turned down flat. However the creation of an additional class worried Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus. Getting a seat can be a struggle for some passengers as overcrowding on the railways continues to be a big problem - nationally less than three in four passengers tell us that they are satisfied with the availability of seats or space to stand. Creating another class of travel could add another layer of complexity to the system and there is a risk that some passengers could feel squeezed out of a seat. We need substantial long-term investment as soon as possible to provide longer and more frequent trains to help reduce crowding. Bob Crow, the leader of the RMT union, accused ministers of paving the way for the reintroduction of third class rail travel, which disappeared from Britain in 1956. "Now we know, the door is open for the train operators to introduce a third passenger class as and when it suits them," Mr Crow said. "We knew that this Government was winding the clock back on employment, benefit and legal rights but now they are opening up the option to dive back in time more than 50 years to the days of third class rail travel," he said. A DfT spokesman said: "It is completely untrue and deliberately misleading to claim that this Government wants to introduce "third class" fares. It absolutely does not: the minimum level of service is standard class and the Government is only interested in proposals from train operators that would improve, at the very least maintain, existing standards. A spokesperson for the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) added: "Decades of decline on the railways have been turned around since privatisation as train companies have used their commercial skills to offer passengers improved services, helping to attract record numbers of people to travel by rail. Satisfaction and punctuality are all close to or at record levels but we know there is always more we can do.