Jaguar Land Rover has threatened legal action against National Rail over the use of long-established train ticket names. The car manufacturer issued a cease and desist letter to the Rail Delivery Group, which manages the National Rail website, demanding it stop referring to “ranger and rover” tickets in that form. Lawyers for the Indian-owned firm argue that the phrase infringes upon its trademarked “Range Rover” brand.
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Rover tickets, which offer unlimited train travel for seven days, have been in circulation since 1959—over a decade before the first Range Rover was launched in 1970 by British Leyland. At that time, the All-Line Rail Rover cost £15 for second-class travel, the equivalent of £304 today. By comparison, the current seven-day version costs £650. Ranger tickets, which provide unlimited travel either with one rail operator or across a specific geographical area, have been sold since the 1970s.
A Rail Delivery Group memo, seen by The Telegraph, revealed that Jaguar Land Rover had formally objected to the combined phrase “ranger and rover”, though it has not opposed the branding of the tickets individually. The group confirmed it had adjusted terminology on the National Rail website, now referring to them as “rover tickets and ranger tickets”. Train companies and ticket retailers have been advised to follow suit in their public-facing material.
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Jaguar Land Rover has indicated it will not pursue further legal action provided the revised wording is adopted. A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson stated: “We are confident that our practices have always complied with intellectual property law and were happy to work with Jaguar Land Rover towards a resolution. After being made aware of a trademark query, we made a minor change to how we describe our Ranger and Rover tickets.”
