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The government is finally simplifying Britain's train fare system so that the number of options are fewer and the absolute cheapest price is always clearly revealed.

And it's about time, because the system is chaotic at present. For example one football fan this week revealed how making a £56 saving on a journey involved carrying 56 tickets around with him - the result of a process called 'ticket splitting'.

Not many passengers even know that this is an option, so here MailOnline Travel reveals more about the system - and how it can reduce fares on a number of UK routes by astonishing amounts.

Exeter St Davids to Durham 

By using Trainsplit.com, an online platform which calculates the best fare splits available, passengers can take the same journey as the National Rail route but will need to clutch a handful of 28 tickets to cover the trip even though the outward trip is direct and the return only has two changes

A football fan who tweeted under the name of Jonny booked a trip from Newcastle to Oxford and by splitting his ticket into several parts the frugal scheme saved him £56 

National rail fare - £184.60

Fare-splitting fare - £137

Here's how to make the saving 

Booking with National Rail for a return journey departing at 9.24am from Exeter with no changes, passengers arrive in Durham five hours and 51 minutes later at 15.15pm.

The return leg involves two changes at Birmingham New Street and Bristol Temple Meads for £184.60 in total.

But there's a cheaper way. 

Online platform Trainsplit.com offers a £137 fare for the same journey, using the fare-splitting method, where lots of single leg tickets are issued for the same journey.

In this instance passengers can take the same route as the National Rail trip but will need to clutch a handful of 28 tickets to make the Trainsplit.com saving.

This involves 13 train splits on their journey even though the outward journey is direct and the return follows the same two train changes.

An expert at Trainsplit.com explained to MailOnline Travel that for every advance ticket a passenger would need a reservation and seat ticket as well as the one covering their route.

The booking gives the traveller a saving of  £47.60.

Highlighting the shocking range in prices that passengers are confronted with, for anyone who opts to buy the tickets for the same journey on the day, at the station, they would have to fork out a staggering £264.20 more than the fare splitting option.

Inverness to Penzance 

The map shows how with fare splitting may save you money but it involves carrying 11 tickets and five changes with Trainsplit.com compared to two trains and two tickets with National Rail

National Rail fare - £233.70

Fare splitting fare - £194.10

Here's how to make the saving 

Through National Rail the 14 hour and 46-minute journey departs the Scottish Highlands at 7.55am, arriving on the English coast at 22.41pm.

From Inverness, passengers must swap trains at Edinburgh then sit on one train that travels the whole way to Penzance for an eye-watering £233.70.

By using Trainsplit.com passengers can make a saving of £39.60 compared to a normal ticket price.

Not only does the journey cost just £194.10 it will also arrive at the final destination an hour earlier.

However, the thrifty passenger will need to carry 11 tickets (plus seat reservations) and hop off and change five times during their trip.

The passenger would depart from Inverness, change at Stirling, travel to Glasgow Queen Street, walk to Glasgow Central then board a train to Wolverhampton then switch at Birmingham New Street. 

After that it's a final hop, pulling into Penzance at 21.43pm.

Swansea to York

By carrying three different tickets on the same journey route passengers can save £14.20

National Rail fare - £74.70

Fare splitting fare - £60.50

Here's how to make the saving 

The five hour 45-minute route recommended for a 10.55am one way journey by National Rail has one change, travelling from Swansea to Manchester Piccadilly then on to York, arriving at 16.40pm at a cost of £74.70.

With Trainsplit.com travellers follow exactly the same route and arrive at the same time but have to carry three tickets to ensure they make their £14.20 saving.

Tickets for this journey cost the same whether bought in advance or on the day of the trip at the station.

Colchester to Newcastle 

A longer route offers a saving but adds almost an hour to a cash-strapped traveller's journey

National Rail fare - £89.50

Fare splitting fare - £75.00

Here's how to make the saving 

A four-hour 38-minute journey from Colchester to Newcastle involves two train changes with National Rail. 

Departing Colchester at 7.13am passengers must travel to London Liverpool Street then take a Tube train to London Kings Cross and board one train to Newcastle for £89.50, arriving at 11.51am. 

Booking through Trainsplit.com they must depart at 7.23 am from Colchester to Stowmarket then switch to a Peterborough train and at Peterborough change trains to Newcastle, arriving at 12.39.

The saving is £14.50 but the journey takes over five hours, which may push some travellers to question whether it's worth the wait.

However, for a last-minute trip with tickets purchased at the station that actually works out as a saving of £83, as the ticket costs £158 if it's not bought in advance.

Portsmouth to Edinburgh

On this route with Trainsplit.com passengers will need a stack of four tickets to leave at 7.18am but pull into Edinburgh at exactly the same time

National Rail fare - £161.80

Fare splitting fare - £113.30

Here's how to make the saving 

The seven-hour and seven-minute journey north involves two changes booking with National Rail.

Travellers depart Portsmouth Harbour at 7.13am for London Waterloo then take the Underground to London King's Cross, where they catch one train to Edinburgh.

The passenger arrives at 14.20 having paid £161.80 for the journey. 

With Trainsplit.com they'll need a stack of four tickets to leave at 7.18am but pull into Edinburgh at exactly the same time.

The saving is made by splitting the ticket along the way but travelling from Portsmouth to London Waterloo, taking an overground to London Kings Cross and continuing up to Edinburgh.

The saving is £48.50, however it does not include the journey across London, which is £2.40 using an Oyster or Contactless or £4.90 paying by cash.

Any passenger who purchases this ticket at the station on the day will have to part with £166.50 for the journey. 

• The fare saving examples on Inverness to Penzance; Portsmouth to Edinburgh; Swansea to York; and Colchester to Newcastle were calculated using the cheapest desktop savings on the National Rail website on 2/2/2017 for a single journey on 10/2/2017. Exeter to Durham is for a return journey on 21/2/2017 and 22/2/2017

WHAT IS FARE SPLITTING? 

Splitting fares is used by many frequent rail passengers as a way of saving money on costly journeys across the UK.

While the best deals are undoubtedly found on long trips, even on short hops between destinations such as Manchester and Stockport or Ascot and Camberley, savings of £4 to £8 can be found. 

Instead of buying one ticket for a direct route to and from their destination, a traveller will book a group of single-leg tickets and their train must call at each station listed on them. 

They may also have to change trains and take an indirect route. But this will often make the fare cheaper, with each ticket company offering different savings.

To ensure the savings are valid, passengers must carry tickets for several different journeys and they have to follow each ticket's restrictions.  

The money-saving technique is completely within operating companies' terms and conditions, with many websites offering tips on how to save the pennies while travelling on Britain's rail lines. 

Section 19 of the National Conditions of Carriage includes: 'In the event of delays or missing connections split train tickets give you the same rights as more expensive through tickets allowing you to take the next appropriate train if any of your tickets are Advance tickets and provided that you were on time for your first train.'

Train expert The Man in Seat Sixty One told MailOnline Travel: 'Ticket splitting isn't a panacea - it generally saves most on obscure cross-country routes or on journeys that straddle a peak/off-peak time boundary.

'But it can certainly produce some useful savings in some cases, and the process of finding such savings is made easier by sites such as www.ticketclever.com or www.trainsplit.com' 

Train fares across the UK are set to undergo a radical overhaul as the government works to simplify the bewildering number of ticket options thrown up for any given rail journey (file image)

Megan French, consumer writer at MoneySavingExpert.com, added: 'Split-ticketing can be a great way to save a lot of cash when you're buying tickets.

'This trick means buying multiple tickets, rather than just one ticket for your journey, and in some cases mean you can save about 50 per cent despite being on the same train and even in the same seat.

'Take for example a Durham to London train, where you stay on the same train but buy a ticket for Durham to Peterborough, and then Peterborough to London, we found a ticket for £97 rather than £131.50. This is just one example, splitting the ticket just once, but you can often split more times by checking all the station stops on the route to see if you can save more cash.

'It's perfectly within the rules as long as the train stops at all the stations you buy tickets for, but just be aware of any time restrictions on your tickets.'

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators, told MailOnline Travel: 'We know customers can find it hard to get the right ticket for their journey due to complex rules and regulations built up by governments over decades. This week rail companies unveiled plans for radical changes that would guarantee customers simpler fares and the best possible deal every time they travel.

'Extra measures to make ticket machines more user-friendly will also give customers better information and make it simpler to find the right ticket at the right price. Working with government, we're determined to overhaul the system to make it easier for customers to buy fares they can trust.

'Train companies offer a wide range of good value fares and discounts which are attracting record numbers of people to the railway.'