RAIL workers have condemned West Coast Main Line’s fledgling new operator’s plan to create three classes of travel on its routes as “completely unacceptable.”

Avanti, which took over the arterial routes from Virgin Trains at the weekend, has announced that it will offer “premium economy” tickets as well as standard and first-class tickets.

It will be the first instance of a third-class travel option in Britain since the 1950s.

Rail union TSSA’s general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “Creating a third class of train passenger is completely unacceptable — a leap backwards from Avanti.

“It’s a trick even Virgin didn’t try, and that’s saying something.

“Avanti have had the franchise in their hands only a matter of days and already they are cooking up new ways to screw more out of passengers. These privateers will stop at nothing to continue fleecing the public.”