VIRGIN TRAINS East Coast has partnered with Seatfrog to launch a new service where empty First Class seats are put up for auction.
Passengers with Standard Class tickets looking to upgrade can bid on the Seatfrog app, starting from a minimum bid of £5, with the available seats allocated to the highest bidders.Upgrades can be won up to 30 minutes before departure, with each auction opening approximately 2.5 hours before a train departs from its originating station.
The system is being trialled on quiet services at present, but VTEC says early results are encouraging and it is looking to expand the offering to more trains.
